Fish send Rusch back to Quebec, gain infielder Cam Kneeland

Much to the dissapointment of many Goldeyes fans who I've spoken with, the Winnipeg Goldeyes have traded starting pitcher, and fan favorite Matt Rusch to Trois-Rivieres Aigles the Can-Am League at his request. 

Matt Rusch

Rusch ended up with the Goldeyes two years ago because his girlfriend was moving here for a job. It's believed that his girlfriend is now moving back to Quebec, and Rusch asked to be traded for that reason. He'd previously played two seasons with the Quebec Capitales of the Can-Am League before playing in Winnipeg for two seasons.

It's a tough situation for Forney, who didn't want to trade the right-hander, but sometimes in independent baseball that's the name of the game. 

"This was a tough trade for us to make because Matt brought so much to our organization and helped us win a championship two years ago," Forney said. "He expressed the desire and need to get back to the east and we're happy to accommodate him."

Cam Kneeland

In return, the Goldeyes acquired the reversionary rights to infielder Cam Kneeland. The 23 year old Kneeland is a versatile infielder who played first base, third base, and short stop for the Aigles last year. However, Kneeland's contract was purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, so the Goldeyes would only retain his services of he's released by Baltimore. 

"He's a good young player that I really liked a lot last year," Forney said. "We had a chance to see him in six games against Trois-Rivieres. He was a real difference maker on that team. We wish him the best in his endeavour with the Orioles, but if it doesn't work out with them, we'd be awfully excited to have him be part of our organization." 

In 99 games with Trois-Riveres, Kneeland hit .306 with nine homers and 62 RBI. He also had a .364 on base percentage. He finished fourth in average in the Can-Am League, and third in RBI.