Watch out, world! Alex Blandino is a knuckleballer now!

Furthermore, he plays for the Cincinnati Reds!

Ten years from now, there’s still a chance that Shin-Soo Choo’s $130 million contract with the Texas Rangers would provide the Cincinnati Reds with some residual value.

You might remember that in the past, teams would receive compensation picks when players who had reached free agency signed with other teams. If the free agent contracts were big enough, they would also receive back-end first-round draft selections. As the entirety of free agency played out, the Reds were left with the 29th pick of the 2014 MLB Draft (on top of the 18th pick, which was used to select Nick Howard). Choo’s megadeal with Texas following his stellar 2013 season with the Reds qualified as such.

Alex Blandino of Stanford was selected with the 29th pick. Although Blandino was raised in the Reds system and showed off some very impressive OBP abilities as an infielder, he only played in sporadic big league appearances over the course of three seasons before being cut loose to pursue his baseball career elsewhere. However, Blandino returned to the Reds last November on a minor league contract after spending a few seasons around the world playing his old profession. At the time, the transaction appeared to be little more than a sentimental, depth-related reunion.

It turns out that this maneuver might be far more complicated than that.

Red Reporter folklore has long surrounded Blandino’s abilities as a late-inning mopper-upper on the mound; his near-unhittable knuckleball combined with his uncanny ability to hit 90 mph is nothing short of amazing. It appears that Blandino will now genuinely attempt to capitalize on his specialized skill.

According to Fernando Rayo, a sports reporter from Nicaragua, Blandino plans to formally try his hand at being a knuckler while he’s back with the Reds.

Rayo has heard that the Great Blandino will join AA Chattanooga to start his career, but it’s unclear if he’ll receive any opportunities to play infield ball while learning his new skill.

BLANDI: Indeed!