Knights Deal Saito, But Deny Being in Rebuilding Mode

(New York Daily Mirror - July 22, 2008)

NEW YORK - With the Knights playing the worst ball since moving to New York, its no surprise that contending teams have come knocking on Mitch Pak's door at Empire Field.

But, at least up until now, Knights fans thought that Pak's plan was to avoid trades and build through the draft. The legitimacy of that plan has now taken a huge hit, given the Knights brutal collapse after an 87-win season last year. Even so, Knights fans would expect the team to seek trades for expendable players, not their bullpen anchor and reigning LF Rookie of the Year.

But there it is.

On Tuesday the Knights dealt closer Takashi Saito to Lake Champlain for middle reliever Rafael Perez and cash considerations. While not on par with his stunning performance in 2007, Saito was having a terrific year for an awful Knights club, posting 16 saves and a 3.09 ERA in 25 appearances. Perez, 26, is a good arm, but is seemingly a mismatch in this deal. He will be of limited utility to the club this year due to overusage considerations. The club did not receive a draft pick in this deal either.

Why deal the best pitcher on the club? "Look, we love Kash," said GM Mitch Pak in a conference call this morning, "but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have a top-flight closer on a team that almost never takes leads into the 9th. Perez has a solid arm and will be helping us for some time to come. We also think that the cash considerations we received in the deal will help us snag the number 1 pick in next year's draft."

Sources in the Knights organization say that Pak feared that Saito, at age 38, was a declining asset and an arm/back injury waiting to happen. Other GM's know this as well, making Saito's trade value more questionable as time passes. Perez is a decade younger than Saito and could be groomed for set-up duty next year.

Knights fans are understandably upset that one of the team's best players was traded in an underwhelming deal, but know in the backs of their minds that Saito was not going to turn this team around and his departure won't make things much worse. After all, it can't get much worse than 28-74 at the All-Star break, can it?

Saito becomes the third closer dealt by the Knights. The first two trades had decidedly different outcomes. In 2003, the Knights traded Jason Isringhausen to Canyon Country for Michael Young, who has since become team captain. In 2005, the team dealt Joe Nathan for Barry Zito. Nathan has been an All-Star every season since leaving New York while Zito has been a horrendous bust.

ALL-STAR GAME UPDATE: The Mirror will present its annual All-Star preview in a few days, with the contest to be played next week.