Phillies make trade with Athletics for righthander Blanton

Judging by the package of prospects the team shipped to Oakland yesterday - top position player Adrian Cardenas, promising lefthander Josh Outman, and 2007 third-round draft pick Matthew Spencer - they feel pretty good about Joe Blanton.

The 27-year-old righthander will fly from his hometown of Nashville tonight to meet the team in Florida, where he could start tomorrow or Sunday against the Marlins.

"There's no doubt that we feel like he is a quality big league starting pitcher," Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said.

The acquisition likely means two things. First, Adam Eaton's tenure as a starter with the Phillies is, at least for the moment, over. Second, the organization believes Blanton, who is 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA this season after going 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA last season, can overcome some recent struggles to provide the Phillies with a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter. Over the past four seasons, Blanton has established himself as one of the most durable young starters in the game, winning 47 games while pitching more than 190 innings in each of 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons. But he has been plagued by inconsistency and poor run support this season. He is 3-6, 6.49 ERA in last nine starts, while A's have scored an average of just 3.48 runs in his starts.

"This has definitely been a learning year for me," said Blanton, who was the A's Opening Day starter. "I'm still a relatively young pitcher and I still have a lot to learn. This is kind of one of those years that started off a little rough and it was one of those years where I kind of let it snowball on myself and started trying to do a little too much. And when you are pitcher, sometimes that kind of hurts you a little bit."

The Phillies began considering Blanton soon after the Cleveland Indians shipped ace lefthander CC Sabathia to Milwaukee on July 7. The talks grew more serious over the past couple of days, and yesterday Arbuckle spoke with Athletics assistant general manager David Forst three or four times before nailing down the specifics of the deal.

"Philadelphia was aggressive," Forst told the Associated Press. "They made it clear they needed a starting pitcher to help out and we were able to get the deal done."

On paper, the Phillies' package of prospects is significant.

Cardenas, ranked among the game's top 100 prospects by Baseball America, was hitting .309 with six triples and 16 stolen bases for Class A Clearwater. A supplemental-round pick in 2006, he was considered to be the top position prospect in the organization, although not necessarily the most major league ready. The Phillies were willing to part with Cardenas in part because they have Chase Utley ingrained at second base, Cardenas' natural position.

Outman, meanwhile, participated in big league spring training this season and appeared to be adapting to his new role as a reliever. The 23-year-old lefty was 4-2 with a 3.22 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings of relief this season at Double A Reading.

But Blanton is only 27 himself and does not become a free agent until after the 2010 season. He also doesn't have the injury history of a pitcher like Rich Harden, whom the A's dealt last week to the Chicago Cubs.

"Anytime we are moving players we view as good potential big leaguers, you like to have someone coming back that you feel is going to be a part of things not just for 2 months, but is going to be a part of things and help us accomplish what we want to accomplish here over the next couple of years," Arbuckle said.

Arbuckle said manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee would decide how Blanton's presence affects the rotation. He hasn't pitched since July 9, when he allowed six runs on nine hits in six innings of a 6-4 loss to the Mariners.

Veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer will pitch tonight, with righthander Kyle Kendrick and ace Cole Hamels expected to pitch tomorrow and Sunday.

"From my point of view, I had 4 full days before the All-Star break started and then the next 4," Blanton said. "It's one of those situations where I'm rested, I'm ready to go, and whenever they call upon me to go, I'll be ready."

It is unclear where the move leaves Eaton, who is 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA this season, although the bullpen is a possibility. If the team decided to release him, it would still owe him the remainder of the 3-year, $24.5 million contract he signed in November of 2006.

"That comes back to Charlie and Doobs to make that call, but we obviously have six guys for five spots right now," Arbuckle said. "So we have to sort that out and I'm sure they are going to be getting the decision made very shortly as far as what they want to do there." *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.