Blanton to Phillies for Cardenas, Outman and Spencer

[Tbadder]

Just announced on ESPN. No details, other than for 3 minor leaguers.

[wallus]

His peripherals with the A's are not good, I think he will get rocked in that stadium.

[crewcrazy]

Well this kinda came out of nowhere, didn't it? Buster Olney hinted that something might be coming soon the other day, but this seems pretty quick. I wonder what the Phillies gave up to get him..it couldn't possibly be Cardenas, could it?

[splitterpfj]

Here's the deal...http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3494315.

[splitterpfj]

Blanton hasn't done well away from home for the A's, and now he'll pitch in that horrible ballpark in Philly....he'll do better than Adam Eaton for sure, but I'm not sure how much help this will bring.

 

Looks like a "we had to do something" move for the Phils....nice haul for Oakland.

[crewcrazy]

They did include Cardenas, after all. I don't see this ending well for the Phils -- that G/F ratio is pretty ugly, and it's even uglier in Philly. I suppose they had to do something, but why wouldn't they go after a guy who K's more, like A.J. Burnett?

[splitterpfj]

Prior to the season, BA rated Cardenas and Outman as the Phillies' #2 and #4 prospects, with Spencer at #28. Cardenas was blocked by Utley, but that's a lot to give for a pitcher who's having a tough year.

[kramnoj]

I haven't really paid attention to the Philiies. Didn't know they were doing so well except for the small problem of 40% of their rotation stinking. What's the story with Myers, does he want to go back to being a reliever and Eaton stays in the rotation?

 

Cardenas is certainly a high price to pay, but the Phils are trying to hold onto 1st. Interesting trade, and great move by Beane to get such a prize.

[TooLiveBrew]

Is Blanton under salary control for Philly after this season? That's one reason to take him over A.J. Burnett, especially when you have to sell off the top portion of your farm system to net a SP.

[pitchleague]

yeah, I heard about this on the radio on my way home from the doctor. Good for the Phillies! They needed somebody. Unfortunately, Blanton going to a serious offense-minded ballpark could totally backfire. But he's a heck of a pitcher.

[kramnoj]

Blanton has two arby seasons after this one.

[Brian the Automator]

I guess I never got what the big deal was about Blanton. I think he's a back-end of the rotation pitcher on a good team, or a middle of the rotation starter on a mediocre team. At least his G/F ratio's OK, so I don't think he'll be as bad in Philly as some might think.

 

As an A's fan, I like the deal very much.

[sbrylski]

Package roughly equivalent to Green+Braddock+Fermaint?

[RU Rah Rah]

It should help Philly in the short term, and that is not good for the Brewers -- unless it means Philly can now whup the Mets into submission and render them irrelevant to the WC chase (which I sort of doubt).

[splitterpfj]

Package roughly equivalent to Green+Braddock+Fermaint?

 

Cardenas is the best prospect heading to Oakland, he was BA's high school player of the year as a senior, and was a supplemental first round pick. Cardenas bats lefty, hits for average, has some power, and good speed - also 28 BB vs 42 K this season. If Chase Utley isn't in Philly right now, I really doubt this player would have moved.

 

Outman is a lefty, who has been a starter, but has worked primarily in relief this season - not just as a LOOGY. He gets his Ks, and he's always had a respectable ERA and AVE against, but he allows too many baserunners for my taste - WHIP consistently in the 1.4s, this year it's right at 1.5 in AA.

 

Spencer was a 3rd round pick in 2007, he throws hard, and had been considered as a pitching prospect, but showed enough pop to be drafted as an outfielder. His tools say he may play in the majors one day, but his stats this season in A+ say, .249 AVE, .684 OPS, 6 HR.

[Team Canada]

The real story here is now both Inman and Outman have been traded for pitching help.

[cwolf2012]

Can we also talk how awesome a name "Outman" is for a baseball player? I guess it's better for a pitcher, but I don't really care either way. He is OUT-MAN!

[crewcrazy]

Can we also talk how awesome a name "Outman" is for a baseball player? I guess it's better for a pitcher, but I don't really care either way. He is OUT-MAN!

Are we sure Rickie Weeks' real last name isn't "Outman"?

 

Seriously, though, it's a pretty awesome name for a pitcher. It definitely beats "Homer Bailey" and "Grant Balfour".