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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Phillies acquire Blanton
Associated Press

The Phillies got help for their starting rotation, acquiring righthander Joe Blanton from Oakland for three minor leaguers -- infielder Adrian Cardenas, lefthander Josh Outman and outfielder Matt Spencer. Cardenas was the No. 2 prospect in the Phillies' system, according to Baseball America, and Outman was ranked No. 4.

Blanton, 27, once considered one of the A’s top young prospects, but has had a disappointing season thus far. He is 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA and has lost six of his last eight starts. He has a 3.87 ERA in 17 of his 20 starts and is tied for sixth in the American League in innings (127), having gone at least six innings in 16 starts. Blanton has the seventh-lowest run support average in the AL.

In his four-year career, Blanton is 47-46 with a 4.25 ERA.

One of his victories this season came against the Phillies on June 24. Blanton’s only mistake in seven innings was a Pat Burrell home run in the A’s 5-2 victory. 

"It's one of those deals where it's very bittersweet," Blanton told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I'm going to a very good team with a very good lineup. They're in the division hunt and they're out to win a championship, and that's what any player wants. But I've always been with the A's, and I have great relationships there. It's one of those double-sided coins."

Like Brett Myers did for the Phillies, Blanton was Oakland’s Opening Day starter. He gave up three runs in 6 2/3 innings in a loss to Boston in Japan. 

“We’ve been attempting to upgrade our rotation and we feel like we’ve done that,” Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said in a statement. “We think Joe is a very strong, competitive pitcher that has the mental makeup to pitch productively in a pennant race. He pitches a lot of innings and takes some burden off the bullpen.”

Outman, 23, was 5-4 with one save and a 3.20 ERA in 33 games (5 starts) for Double A Reading.

Cardenas, 20, was hitting .309 in 67 games for Single A Clearwater.

Spencer, 22, was hitting .249 with six home runs and 41 RBI in 84 games for Clearwater.

Posted by Josh Barnett @ 7:12 PM  Permalink | 44 comments
44
Comments   
Posted 07:19 PM, 07/17/2008
Leron
Gillick, you old senile dufus. This was the best you could do?! Please retire already you fossil!
Posted 07:43 PM, 07/17/2008
Wally Ritchie
This is not a bad deal and certainly the best that was left. Blanton pitches innings. Look at his career stats and his record would be better if they surrounded him with some actual offense instead of low average, 25 HR people like Chavez and Cust.
Posted 07:49 PM, 07/17/2008
mjb
I am blown away by this signing. Blown blown blown away. Pennant here we come. Not.
Posted 07:50 PM, 07/17/2008
BTH
This doesn't look good at all. Cardenas might not have had a future with the Phils but you would think Gillick could use him to get a better piece then Blanton. Not happy.
Comment removed.
Posted 08:07 PM, 07/17/2008
BobbyD
I think it's a good deal considering what other pitchers were available. Certainly an upgrade over Adam Eaton.
Posted 08:22 PM, 07/17/2008
wmontanez27
Gillick was the guy that traded away Floyd for an injured Garcia. Does this team really scout personnel? What scares me the most is the fact that this team will trade away more prospects before the end of the year. This organization and the government are running neck to neck to which is run poorer.
Posted 08:22 PM, 07/17/2008
MrPhillie
I don't hate this deal, but I don't think it is the one to put the Phillies over the top. Yes, they could really use a guy who goes out and pitches a lot of innings while keeping you in the game, but I hope the front office and fans do not expect Blanton to be our Sabathia. Nice move, not a great move. Given that Blanton is only 27, it's not a terrible deal, even with Cardenas included. That said, the Phils better hope Myers performs as the front office seems to think he can. He needs to be a reliable shut-down starter. Your "number 2" starter simply cannot ave 2 1/3 inning games.
Posted 08:29 PM, 07/17/2008
TexasKen
How many hours in the the board room did this decision take? I would say one sitting on the toilet. Yea, there you go, 5-12 record and one more bad inning away from a 5.00+ ERA? Don't we already have a couple of those barnicles on the team already? Tell Gillick he might want to read Coste's book, he use to pitch, give him the pill, can't be any worse than Eaton but then again one of the local little leaguers can't be worse than Eaton and I know they would be cheaper. Upgrade, yea, for the Met's and Marlins for sure.
Posted 08:47 PM, 07/17/2008
rockinrob
Outamn could be very good so this deal stinks.
Posted 09:01 PM, 07/17/2008
Phillyfan28
this is an obvious upgrade, and not a bad deal considering that they did not give up carassco, marson, or golson.
Posted 09:25 PM, 07/17/2008
cg
I think what everyone is forgetting is that usually ERAs are higher in the AL because the pitcher doesn't hit in their games. The other thing people are forgetting is that Gillick may have brought us Garcia for Floyd, but he also brought in Moyer who has been good for us, Loshe (who had a similar ERA and record when he came over) last year, he brought us Brad Lidge who's been very good. He's also brought in Romero who has been extremely consistent for us and signed Durbin. Give him 5 starts before passing judgement. I will miss Outman because I think he was the best prospect we gave up that had a chance with us but on the other hand, we didn't give up Carrasco, Marson, Donald, or Golson. There very well may be a bigger move on the horizon with those pieces still in the cupboard. If they can swing for front-line starter Brett can move to setup and they can put Flash out in the pasture. I think that you may be pleasantly surprised with this deal.
Posted 09:27 PM, 07/17/2008
cg
Phillyfan28, I could not agree more with you. I think the ERA will drop because a lot of these teams haven't seen him and the switch from AL to NL will help since he'll face the pitcher now too.
Posted 09:44 PM, 07/17/2008
northphillyboy
will the real baseball fans step up, he was 10-10, 26-12 and 14-10 the previous 3 seasons, he is getting no run support this year and his era is inflated because of three bad starts, this is a good trade.
Posted 09:53 PM, 07/17/2008
wmontanez27
CG made excellent points about his recent deals. Outman will cost this organization. The organization should have kept him as a starter this year. Phillie fans will be upset with every win win he garners in Oakland. Billy is not stupid. He took this organization. It is not Blanton's fault. He will compete. The park will truly hurt him a lot. Lohse is going to win again tonight.
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About David Murphy
David Murphy joined the Daily News as its Phillies beat writer in February of 2008. Born in Upper Merion and raised in the Poconos, he attended college at La Salle University before taking jobs with the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun-News and the St. Petersburg ( Fla. ) Times.

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