Blanton's agent: Talks are progressing on multi-year deal
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Blanton's agent: Talks are progressing on multi-year deal
Matt Gelb
Joe Blanton's lofty request for $10.25 million in arbitration could prove to be completely inconsequential.
Blanton's agent, Jeff Barry, said today he has had talks with the Phillies regarding a multi-year extension for Blanton. The right-handed pitcher is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2010 season.
"They're progressing and we'll see where it takes us," Barry said.
Barry said he was hopeful something can be worked out before the two sides before a potential arbitration hearing in February. When asked about Blanton's salary request of $10.25 million, which would set an arbitration record should Blanton win his case, Barry said it was designed to "seek the player's value."
The two sides discussed a possible extension even before salary figures were exchanged on Tuesday, Barry said. Other reports indicate the Phillies are seeking similar extensions for their two other arbitration-eligible players, outfielder Shane Victorino and catcher Carlos Ruiz. But unlike Blanton, both Victorino and Ruiz are under the Phillies' control through 2011. (Ruiz will not be a free agent until 2013.)
If the Phillies were to sign Blanton to a multi-year deal, the figures could resemble recent deals given out on the open market to similar pitchers like Jason Marquis (two years, $15 million) and Joel Pineiro (two years, $16 million). Or it could be more.
The Phillies countered Blanton's arbitration request with their own offer of $7.5 million. Blanton, 29, was 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA for the Phillies in 2009.
"Joe loves Philadelphia," Barry said. "His wife loves Philadelphia. They love the winning they've had there the last couple of years. There is definitely mutual interest on both sides. We'll see where it takes us."
Comments (45)
lock em up— therev- "Joe loves Philadelphia" Yeah right.....he loves $10 mill a year. What did he go last year.....12-8? And that's with all that run support. He's a slightly above-average pitcher.— chalmette1815
- Agreed with chalmette. Slightly above average, has a few clutch moments, but isn't worth what he is asking. My feeling is that the reason they are trying to work out a multi-year deal is to pay him less now and then more later.— DrM
- still can't believe they cared so little for the fans that they did not pay AND sign Cliff Lee!!!! but would pay mediocre Blanton UGH!— Unk4jazz
- Blanton has about the same value as Jason Marquis...and he signed for 7.5 per. Anything more isn't worth it. Slightly above average pitchers are relatively easily replaced, in FA and trade. Those are not the players you overpay for.— ChrisInVT
- He has been steady and in the upper group of pitchers....I would say something like a 3 yr 24/25 million contract....7 million this year, 8.5 next year and 9.5 in year 3....I mean they gave Eaton 24 million over 3 years....— blubrojake
- Let's go with a 3 year 22 million dollar contract. He is still young and is a solid number 3 or 4 pitcher. He did well in the playoffs against the Rays, and did OK against the Yankees.— FloridaBrian
- Let's go with a 3 year 22 million dollar contract. He is still young and is a solid number 3 or 4 pitcher. He did well in the playoffs against the Rays, and did OK against the Yankees.— FloridaBrian
- while i agree that blanton is similar to marquis i wouldnt say they have the same value. i would have no problem with blanton getting 8.5 a year... forget about wins - that relies too much on outside factors like defense and run support... if you look at WHIP and Ks, blanton is better than Marquis(7.5 mil) and Piniero(8 mil). Also, don't forget, he was our most consistent pitcher last year. BUT, I agree that he is not worth it if they overpay him, which would be about 9.25 or more— therev
- Folks have to get over it about Lee. He never indicated ANY interest in signing with the Phillies and skipping the FA route for the big $s (certainly more than the Phillies would be offering) and I don't blame him. Amaro probably did right by trading him but we really will not know for 2-3 years......and I'll bet if you compare Blanton's and Lee's regular 2009 season numbers there is not a huge difference. As a number 3 type pitcher I would extend him.— mrdip
- his numbers are worth about 3 million a year tops!!1— sawgrass
- I've seen too amny innings when Blanton appeared to go brain dead and cough up big scores. Problem is the team is stuck with him.— drbob456
- 2 yr 15 mil sounds about right for joe. Look at Wolf getting over 10mil...its not right, but its reality. Everyone does need to get over the Lee thing. Its apples and oranges..after this year, Lee would have been too much to sign anyway. Next year Moyers 8 mil comes off the books, and we will get another stud pitcher of some sort...the future still looks bright for the phils...lets get another WS this year and enter the "dynasty" category...— jphil
- The not paying of Cliff Lee has very little to do with Blanton. They were just as concerned about restocking the farm system after the Lee and Halladay trades and we couldn't get much of anything for Blanton. They knew they'd have to pay Blanton 7-9 million this year, and that's fine. He's a good steady 3-4 pitcher and they don't have too many more options.— brob1900
- The not paying of Cliff Lee has very little to do with Blanton. They were just as concerned about restocking the farm system after the Lee and Halladay trades and we couldn't get much of anything for Blanton. They knew they'd have to pay Blanton 7-9 million this year, and that's fine. He's a good steady 3-4 pitcher and they don't have too many more options.— brob1900
- its pretty pathetic when blanton is considered above average,its pathetic that a pitcher who gives up more than 4 runs a game is considered above average,its pathetic that a pitcher who wins 6 more than he loses,who gives up a ton of hrs,who allows more hits than innings pitched.who doesnt complete games,is considered above average much less woth even 7.5 million,what baseball needs to do is contract and eliminate bums like blanton pretending to be major league pitchers— soliteryman
Comment removed.- brob, don't even bother. these morons still don't get it.— dmurphy2103
- In case you haven't noticed, its a new era in baseball...a middle reliever with an ERA over 4 gets $2mil and if he's a lefty $3.5mil. Baseball is the best sport to be a pro athlete, the contracts (unlike football) are guaranteed and the effort put out/risk of injury (compared to football, hockey) are not as great and you can play into you late 30's if you have mediocre talent. I agee 2yrs ,$15mil should get it done for Blanton.— hoopfan11
- wow, soliteryman, go smoke a j or something buddy, calm down... in case you haven't noticed the rules of baseball are meant to help the hitter (smaller strike zone, smaller parks, lower mound), so of course pitching is going to get worse. the avg pitcher is not going to be great, so give "slightly above avg joe" a break. the phils need him— therev
- Ruben can't have Blanton get any type of contract which pays him $9 million or more for 2010 after moving Lee who would have been paid $9 million next year. We will know soon what kind of talent he got for Lee but just remember Seattle wanted to move them and Toronto did not want them in the Halladay deal even though two were Canadians. Let's hope for Ruben's career that they are of major league quality. We will know soon. Can't wait for spring training to start to see them in action.— Dull
- They still aren't good enough to win a World Series vs. Yanks or the Red Sox. Should have tried to keep Lee.— jkt
- I agree with "mrdip". People need to forget about Lee. Yes, i would have been great to have that type of 1.2.3 in the rotation. Our farm put us in the situation we where in to have the options to make these types of deals. Without a strong farm you end up in situations like the met's, they can not make trades, just over pay free agents. Our club does not work that way and never will. We will be fine!— Goirish77
- brob1900, respectfully, I would rather have Lee than the three mid level prospects we received. I like Blanton, but I would rather have Lee.— johndenny
- Comment removed.
- Cripes, quit whining about Cliff Lee already, it's getting soooo old! I figure that Blanton will end up with around 8.5 million for 3 years.— theragtopguy
- Joe isn't great, but he's better than average. Basically he's been a top 3 starter for a team that has gone to the World Series back to back. The Phillies have a chance to win every time he is on the mound. He was terrific in the 2008 postseason, and for some reason he did not get consistent chances to start in the 2009 postseason. He's worth between 7.5-9 million per year, and I would give him up to 3 years.— Chainsaw
All you Blanton haters need a CLUE. Have you ever actually WATCHED a baseball game? He's a bulldog and his career stats are right there with Cliff Lee, Joel Piniero and Ben Sheets for ERA, WHIP, IP/start and HR/9IP. His 12-8 last year would sound bad with the Phils' offense to any putz that doesnt pay attention (Chalmette) But the Phils lost 4 of those games when giving up 3 runs or less. If the run support had been their norm in those games- he goes 16-4. If you can lock him up for 3 yrs at an avg of $10mil a year- it's smart.- As others have pointed out, Lee was traded because he could get better prospects and the Phillies weren't going to be able to afford to re-sign Lee at the $25 million per year that he was seeking (he wanted CC money). Blanton will probably get a 2-3 year deal worth around 8-9 million per year. You're comparing apples and oranges.— JimG
- Give Joe a million or two for hitting that home run against the Rays in the 2008 WS. 8-) He's a young, solid #3 or #4 who doesn't go on the DL. I'd give him a multi-year contract averaging 7-8 million per year.— s
- It seems like a lot of money for a guy who's fastball barely breaks 90 mph.— lgeagles
Blanton is consistant, and goes deep into the game, average 7 or 8 innings.... The Phils should lock him up...— TheBlank
At least he can stay healthy, and is not a head case (see Hamels).— gho_matt- shoulda just signed Lee and did ARB with Blanton, then by the trade deadline - trade one of them and get something back. But what do I know...— Hollywood Junkie
- mrdip, folks will never get over lee because as much of a coup it was for amaro to acquire him at the trade deadline it was just as much of a blunder to trade him to seattle for peanuts and not explore alternatives which would accomodate lee and his salary requirements.. whatever they wind up extending blanton for could have been used towards a lee extention.. blanton is expendable because he is as inconsistent as the rest.. hell, amaro even knows he was expendable because he tried to move blanton for prospects before coming to the questionable conclusion that moving lee for prospects was his only way to deal with the matter of salary room and prospect acquisition. amaro had a guaranteed world series appearance this year if he held on to lee while acquiring halladay.. he is content to take his chances with a mostly inconsistent rotation and a relief corps depleted of all its major talent.— zwarte piet
- yep, it was the trading of gavin floyd for freddy stinking garcia that led to all this..floyd would be the cheaper middle of the rotation option right now... again, Joe, show you're serious and drop some poundage like Ryan howard did... just amazing that you can be making 7 to 9 million bucks for being slightly above average— jim715
- Cliff Lee makes $9 million. That alone proves him and Blanton and money have nothing to do with each other. Some people just love to whine.— bobbyd24
- Brob...I am not so sure you are right. The MLB arbitration deadline was the weekend of Dec 1st. The Phillies offered arbitration to Blanton that weekend. They did not have to, and could have made him a non tendered free agent. At the time, they were negotiating the Halladay trade with Toronto, and the Lee trade with Seattle. They chose to offer arbitration to Blanton, which committed the Phillies to a salary of 7.5 to 10 million dollars. Amaro could have chose to let Blanton walk, and use the money saved to pay for Cliff Lee for the year. This way, they could afford to have both Halladay and Lee on the roster at the same time. Then, they could have let Lee walk next year, and received two first round picks as compensation. I am not sure what the decision process was during arbitration weekend, and why Amaro decided to give Blanton arbitration, if payroll was an issue in retaining Lee. This is because no one in the media covered this point, nor asked Amaro this question at any of the post trade conferences and radio shows. Who would you rather have, Lee or Blanton? Did the prospects they received from Seattle that much more valuable than the two first round picks they would have received as free agent compensation? To the point of giving up the opportunity to have a "putting all your chips on the table" season where they would have been prohibitive World Series favorites. I have not seen nor read a compelling argument yet which justifies the Blanton tender, followed by the Lee salary dump, and the Halladay trade. And if you think the three prospects they received from Toronto significantly replenished the farm system to a greater degree than two first round draft picks, I have some great real estate I would be happy to sell you in West Philly.— arrowamy
- It's a done deal. 3 years, $24M— MarkNJ
- I say they give him 3 yr deal for 26 or 27 million...— storourke
- Look, in the end, this organization has been to two WS in a row, while winning one. I'll drink their Kool-aid.— davekrieg
- Blanton at least deserves more than the Phillies gave Adam Eaton.— daveb618
- brob1900.... thank you, finally someone on here who actually know's what's going on. I really think a lot— bobf876
- No wonder the Daily News is suffering - with readers like those individuals that commented on this story - there is no hope. Did any of you read the story? Blanton's "aim high" proposal of 10.5 million was to get the 7.5 million dollar from the Phils' front office. Now Blanton's agent has a number to negotiate a multi-year deal.— michael2_19030
- I can't believe people question this move.— CMc62480
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