The Dodgers acquired Joe Blanton from the Phillies for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Dodgers announced. The Dodgers claimed Blanton off of waivers today, the Dodgers and Phillies were immediately able to connect on a trade.
Blanton, 31, has a 4.59 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 1.2 BB/9 and a 43.9% ground ball rate in 133 1/3 innings for the Phillies this year. The right-hander will have the remaining $2.9MM left on his contract picked up by the Dodgers for the rest of the season. Blanton is set to hit free agency after the conclusion of the World Series.
According to the August trade deadline rules, every National League team but the Braves, Nationals, Cardinals, Pirates, Reds, and Giants would’ve had to pass on claiming Blanton. He drew interest from the Orioles in July, but we didn’t hear any connection between the Dodgers and Blanton leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline. Baltimore was reluctant to match Philadelphia’s asking price, so a deal obviously never got done.
Blanton joins a rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Chad Billingsley. Stephen Fife will probably be headed back to the minors for the next month, with Blanton taking his roster spot. Of course another move will have to be made when the Dodgers activate Ted Lilly from the disabled list. No word on who will be the odd man out here, but my money is on Harang. He’s probably already on waivers, but the Dodgers could easily DFA him, or move him to the bullpen as insurance. The Dodgers may not be done yet, a lot of Cliff Lee talk going on out there, more to come on that shortly.
bit off topic but just read that Gwynn got DFA’d today. Why do you think it was Gwynn and Abreu, and not Loney or Uribe? Did it come down to size of contract and money?
Gwynn doesn’t seem to be part of the long term plan in Los Angeles. He’s failed to live up to the hype and he’s probably done in Los Angeles. I don’t see him ever being a starting outfielder for the Dodgers. However, I will miss him. I wouldn’t miss Loney and Uribe, that’s for sure. Abreu was very puzzling as well. So yes, contract and money is what it’s coming down to here. It seems to go against the grain a little bit. The team actually got worse with those two moves. The Dodgers must feel like those two clowns will have a good August and September. I am really hoping they prove me wrong.
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