Phils land Blanton

[Frayed Knot]

Acc to ESPN's Buster Olney:

The Phillies have reached an agreement with the Oakland Athletics to acquire right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton. Blanton is 5-12 this season after going 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA last season.
The Athletics get second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer, all minor leaguers.


Blanton will be under club contol thru 2009 & 2010
It was a logical landing spot for him seeing as how Billy Beane is cleaning house and the Phils need starting pitching.
I know nothing about the quality or closeness (to the majors) of those minor leaguers.

[seawolf17]

Shit. Another guy who would have looked nice at Shea.

Don't do anything rash, Omar.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Phattest Phillie since Kruk? Luzinkski?

[Guest AG/DC]

seawolf17 wrote: Shit. Another guy who would have looked nice at Shea. Don't do anything rash, Omar.

Don't worry about that. I have it on good faith that Omar is known for his aggression.

Seriously, root for wins, not trades.

I think the Phils, by presumably stocking up for this year's division race, weakened themselves for a few races in the future. Last I checked (this offseason) Cardenas, a 2006 sandwich pick, was their second-best prospect. I'm checking now and he's got an .818 OPS as a middle infielder at high A. Outman's doing a fine job as a flakey lefty swingman in AA. Spencer's a strapping longshot, but whatever, with a potential star and a potential solid contributor, a potential longshot ain't so bad.

Blanton Schmanton. Or Blanton Stanton. They can have him and his five ERAS. Nice to see them show how desperate they are for wings.

Edited July 17, 2008 by Guest

[Guest themetfairy]

Fat Joe Blanton is nothing special. Beane was wise to unload him.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Contact pitcher going from a flyball pitchers paradise to purgatory. Hoo boy.

[Theoldmole]

Edited July 18, 2008 by Guest

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

Don't entirely understand why Beane is blowing it up this year; they're only 4.5 out of the wild card with a much better run differential than the teams ahead of them. I suppose you could say that Blanton is a weaker pitcher than Gio Gonzalez or Faustino de los Santos would be, but it takes a pretty big pair to trade away 3/5ths of your starting rotation when you're within shouting distance of the playoffs and have the third best run differential in the league.

[Guest AG/DC]

I think he's coming around to the thought that most of us have starting rotations deeper than we give ourselves credit for. Harden is one thing, but Blanton has a five ERA. Throw Chad Gaudin in there, or Gio Gonzalez. Trust your judgment. You hired your scouts and development team for a reason.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

But Chad Gaudin's also gone, meaning he's gonna go with Duchschererererer and 4 guys under the age of 25. Actually, the 31 year old Duschshchscherererer is another sell-high candidate. Watch him go next.

[Guest AG/DC]

Yeah, I know he went. I just meant that he himself was a plug-in, then he gets dealt when he looks good. I guess Sean Gallagher's time is coming next. A 27-12 record with a 2.77 ERA in the minors after 89 starts has to be encouraging.

I think Beane is still exhibiting a good intinct for buying low and selling high. What's missing though is the notion (and maybe it's a false notion) that some staibility has to be in place if a team is going to make a real run.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

AG/DC wrote: I think Beane is still exhibiting a good intinct for buying low and selling high.

No doubt, but I can't imagine what it's like being an A's fan. The team looked like a legit contender this year, despite being a little unlucky Pythagorean-wise. Then your GM sells high on your starting rotation in mid-season (I'm still not convinced he got enough back for Harden/Gaudin, though). It's possible the kids slot in and run with this team, carrying them to the playoffs, but that's a hell of a rollercoaster ride for the fans.

I know the situations are different, specifically monetarily, but can you imagine a New York GM trying to pull this off?

[Frayed Knot]

It's almost like Beane is banking on the Angels to start showing their age next year exactly when the A's (he hopes) will be poised to pounce.
Nice idea if it works but it's a helluva gamble.


btw, we've faced Blanton twice and have yet to score a run off him.

- He picked up a win while shutting us out for 7 IP in 2005

- and then took a ND by shutting us out over 8 IP in 2007 in a game the Mets won 1-0 in the 9th on Castro & Wright doubles

[smg58]

Blanton looked like somebody who had turned the corner after last season, but he's gone straight backwards this year. The return wasn't bad, but I have to think Beane could have gotten a lot more for Blanton in January.

At any rate, barring a very rapid turnaround, I don't see Blanton having a big impact down the stretch.

[Guest AG/DC]

I don't get it. What's not to like about Adrian Cardenas? The Mets could use a second-base prospect of his quality. He may well be the top second-base prospect in the minors. The Phils though enough of his bat that there some talk of making an outfielder out of him.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

AG/DC wrote: I don't get it. What's not to like about Adrian Cardenas? The Mets could use a second-base prospect of his quality.

From Keith Law:

]Adrian Cardenas is the best of the three prospects going back to Oakland; in a perfect world, he becomes a solid-to-average offensive second baseman with an average glove. He has a short enough swing to make plenty of contact, but he's not physical and won't hit for much power. He's not fast out of the box, but shows above-average speed going first-to-third. He's also a perfect 16-for-16 in steals this year.

From Kevin Goldstein:

]The Good: Cardenas has good bat speed and outstanding hand-eye coordination, using his strong wrists to whip the bat through the hitting zone, leading to consistent hard contact with gap power to all fields. He has a good approach and solid pitch recognition, and gets high grades for his makeup. He shows decent speed once he gets underway. The Bad: Drafted as a shortstop with the knowledge that he'd have to move, Cardenas continued to struggle with the glove on the right side of the infield in 2007, and need to improve his reads off the bat and his work around the bag. He's a little on the smallish side, and doesn't project for more than average power. Fun Fact: Cardenas hit five of his nine home runs last year in the month of May, in which he also hit just .255, his lowest single-month average. The following month, he hit .360 without going deep once. Perfect World Projection: Ray Durham minus the speed?

I think the Mets might already have a second-base prospect of his quality. =)

[duan]

I mean Joe Blanton could well reel off a few decent starts - he's been capable of doing it before, but to give up 2 of your 5 top prospects for someone who's only had a significantly better then average era in his rookie season and who's having a pretty rough season.

He's never struck that many people out and seeing Bobby Jones high on his comparable lists via both BP and BR looks about right.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The opening few paragraphs from the Philadelphia Inquirer's story on the trade:

]Phils get pitching help, landing A's Blanton By Todd Zolecki Inquirer Staff Writer The Phillies lost the CC Sabathia sweepstakes, but they think they found someone yesterday who can help them the way Jamie Moyer did in 2006 and Kyle Lohse did in 2007. They think righthander Joe Blanton can give them something Adam Eaton has not: innings and wins. "We feel his makeup is going to allow him to fit very well in a pennant race," Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said last night after the Phils acquired Blanton in a trade with the Oakland Athletics for prospects Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman and Matt Spencer. "He was attractive for a lot of reasons." Blanton, 27, is 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA, but the Phillies and the pitcher think those numbers are deceiving and will improve in the second half. "I feel like one of my bigger strengths is that I'm a guy who goes out and grabs the ball every start," said Blanton, who had the seventh-lowest run support in the American League. "I'm a guy that wants to stay out there as long as they'll let me go. I definitely like to feel that I build as the season goes."

And from the Philadelphia Daily News:

="Bill Conlin"]I'm not a big fan of the enormous former A's righthander. Nothing personal. But I think he uses his brute strength to overpower the baseball to the detriment of his poor mechanics. But if Joe can do a reasonable Kyle Lohse impersonation during this lopsided second half, then hats off to GM Pat Gillick. They got Blanton for nothing they will ever miss. Adrian Cardenas was blocked at second, his only certifiable position. Josh Outman is a Double A setup man and Matt Spencer is a throw-in outfielder. If Blanton bombs, it was at the expense of very little. If he helps the Phils to the East title, Gillick is a genius.

Wasn't Bill Conlin an old Sporting News name?

[Fman99]

Mmmmmmmmmm innings.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I find it amusing when people talk about pitchers being "inning eaters". They act like quantity is all theat matters. I don't want a guy "eating innings" for my team if it's quantity without quality.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Rockin' Doc wrote: I find it amusing when people talk about pitchers being "inning eaters". They act like quantity is all theat matters. I don't want a guy "eating innings" for my team if it's quantity without quality.

Steve Trachsel 2006 aaaaaaggg