July 17, 2008
A's Dump Blanton
Joe Blanton
Photo: Icon SMI
The Philadelphia Phillies acquire Joe Blanton from the Athletics for three minor leaguers:
The Athletics get second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer, all minor leaguers.
I'm not a big Blanton fan. He doesn't strike out many batters. The A's lowered his ERA a bit by pitching him mostly at home this season. In 14 starts in Oakland, he posted a 4.63 ERA. In six starts on the road, he posted a 5.73 ERA. In less than half the innings on road, he allowed the same number of home runs. He's going to a park known as a haven for power hitters, so I don't think he'll do that well in Philadelphia.
The other problem with Blanton is that he blows up in the middle innings. One through three, he allows a .245 BA, but in innings four and five that jumps to .369. Given that he's likely to replace Eaton, however, he'll probably be an improvement.
Adrian Cardenas is a 20-year-old middle infielder with a great OBA. Outman is 23, good K and home run numbers, but does walk a bit too many batters. Spencer is 22 with a OPS over .700 in 484 minor league at bats. Two of the three could turn into useful players for Oakland.
Correction: I misread Spencer's stats. The .700 was his OPS, not slugging percentage. He doesn't look like a great hitter.
Posted by David Pinto at
07:23 PM
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OPS for Spencer over .700, rather than SLG.
Seems like a nice haul for the A's.
Spencer can be converted to a Pitcher.
re: joe blanton deal
after checking blanton's numbers on baseball-reference dot com, i have to agree with Dave Pinto, Blanton doesn't strike out enough batters to be an effective pitcher in Citizens Bank Park. He'll have to have a good sinker or good command of several different pitches to get the job done.
since his excellent rookie year, his whip hasn't been as good and his hits have exceeded his innings pitched, though he doesn't give up many walks and he does eat up innings.
on the other hand, even at era+ 77 way below league, blanton is actually going to be an improvement over brett myers and adam eaton, who both were actually worse. And if blanton returns to the form of last year or two and pitches slightly better than league average, then the phillies will have a middle rotation starter who can eat up innings and spare the bullpen.
i will miss josh outman. great name for a pitcher.
--art kyriazis, philly
