July 18, 2008

The Blanton Trade

The Phillies finally made a trade for a starting pitcher last night, acquiring Joe Blanton from Oakland for a trio of minor leaguers (second baseman Adrian Cardanes, pitcher Josh Outman, and outfielder Matt Spencer.

I like the trade, for several reasons. While he's struggled this year, Blanton has a history of being a generally solid starter who pitches tons of innings. They were able to get him without surrendering any of their major prospects (except for Cardenas, who is blocked by Chase Utley), and Blanton has two more years before he's a free agent, so he's not a rental. They kept Carlos Carrasco, for instance, who is likely to join the rotation next year as the second top-of-the-rotation starter to go with Cole Hamels.

The trade also enables the Phils to drop Adam Eaton from the rotation, and gives them some insurance in case Brett Myers isn't able to contribute. The second half gets under way tonight; should be quite a ride.

What do you Phillies fans think? I don't know. They're all more concerned about Brian Westbrook's contract. Still, I'm looking forward to hearing how Howard Eskin and various WIP callers shoehorn the team trading three minor leaguers for a veteran pitcher into an argument about how the Phillies are cheap.

Posted by Stephen Silver at July 18, 2008 03:14 PM
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