Appearing on ESPN 950, Buster Olney has reported that the Phillies have traded a package of SS/2B Adrian Cardenas, P Josh Outman, and OF Matt Spencer to the A's for pitcher Joe Blanton.
Despite not being anywhere near a top-tier starter, Blanton brings a healthy appetite for innings to the Phillies rotation, though it will likely be as a 4th or even 5th man. His split stats show that he hurls better away from Oakland, but Citizens Bank Park isn't exactly pitcher-friendly, so we'll have to wait and see how those stats are affected by the new surroundings.
Olney says that although he won't always shine, Blanton should fit in well in Philly. He is hard-nosed and competitive, and he'll get through 6 on most nights, allowing the bullpen to stay fresh down the stretch. He'll also be in town through 2010, as opposed to the rentals that were snagged of off the market earlier (who were admittedly much bigger talents). The good news on Blanton is we already know his downside, as he's currently pitching as poorly as ever, but there's definitely a chance he could turn things around and become a solid starter here. He's only 27 after all. He's not the #2 this team desperately needed, but depth at SP is good no matter how you slice it. Right? Guys?
We'd like to know who the odd man out in the rotation is, since Brett Myers is set to return from his 'Piggin stint. Will the Phillies grant his wish and convert him to a reliever (albeit in a set-up role), or will they figure out a solution to the Adam Eaton situation?
Phils Inquiring About Joey Bland
We all know that starting pitching is the Phillies most pressing need, and also that they lost out on the premier talent that was available in CC and Rich Harden. The quality of the arms falls off a cliff after that point, and the Phils have been linked through scout-spotting to the Blue Jays for a few weeks now. The target in a Jays deal would be AJ Burnett, who can go from lights-out K master to Adam Eaton in just under 1.2 starts. On top of his inconsistency, he also has a very club-unfriendly contract situation. Unless the price is damn near free (and so far it's not), we'd probably be happy to see the Phils pass on Burnett.
Buster Olney [Insider] reports that those talks have indeed calmed down, but he confirms some rumors we've heard that the Phillies are now asking the A's about Joe Blanton.
After CC and Harden went to the NL Central, Pat Gillick made it clear the team would be looking at "B-list" pitchers, and Blanton is definitely in that category, if not lower. However, I didn't think much of Kyle Lohse before the Phils acquired him last year, and that turned out pretty well for the most part ('til he wasn't retained). But from what we've seen of Blanton, not only does he have Burnett's inconsistent start patterns, he's not all that great even when he's on. The Fightins crew is split on who they like more between Blanton and Burnett, which probably has more to do with concerns about which SP is worse rather than which is potentially better.
Blanton is currently sporting an ERA just south of 5.00, a 1.42 WHIP, and only 62 Ks in 122 innings. He's given up 6 or more runs in three of his last five starts (four times all season), so his trade value probably couldn't be much lower. With his ERA a full run higher than his final stats from 2007, maybe Gillick sees him as a buy-low candidate, but usually that banner is reserved for solid guys in a slump, not average guys who are pitching worse than usual. Also, Blanton's current ERA is almost exactly the same as he put up in 2006, so I think what we see is what we get. Somehow, he's put together 47 wins in 122 career starts, compared to 46 losses. On the Phillies rotation, he'd be no better than a fourth starter, which won't help much in the playoffs.
Still, if Billy Beane is just looking to dump at the deadline (he traded their best starter already, making them sellers in the market), Gillick owes the situation a look. I do get a little nervous thinking about Old Baseball Gillick and Moneyball Beane at the table though.
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