“For us to trade Mark, which we talked about all winter, we needed someone who would fit into our rotation right away,” Tigers President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski said. “So in that sense, Gary Knotts was a necessity because we feel he’s ready to start at the big-league level.
“He was our best starting pitcher at the end of the season, no question about it,” Dombrowski said, “but we had three left-handers (Redman, Maroth and Van Hekken) who pretty much fit the same mold, guys with below-average fastballs, but good off-speed stuff.
“Having three of the same type was a little much and when you look at the group, Redman had the most value.”