With Joe Blanton seemingly the best available starter, the logical question is whether the Red Sox will now go after him. Curt Schilling’s doctor believes he may never pitch again if he doesn’t have surgery.
The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair believes:
Theo Epstein has already laid some groundwork with the Oakland Athletics Billy Beane for a deal involving Joe Blanton, remnants of discussions the clubs had about Dan Haren before Haren was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
However, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote today that the Sox "merely kicked the tires on Erik Bedard and Dan Haren."
Ken Rosenthal suggested that Epstein might acquire more pitching depth, but didn’t mention Blanton. Personally I do not see Epstein going the Blanton route. Blanton doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would thrive in the AL East, though his price will be significant. If anything, I’d expect Epstein to target a guy with good stuff, like Gil Meche, Ben Sheets, or Ian Snell (rather than the suggestions I have seen of Kyle Lohse or Jason Marquis).
