Also from K-Ro’s latest, Billy Beane isn’t ruling anything out, but at the same time, he has a hard time envisioning trading Joe Blanton any time soon:
"He’s a lot better than he gets credit for, and he’s incredibly durable, too. He’s a 200-inning pitcher with quality stuff. And he’s getting better and better."
Blanton’s peripheral stats are also cited as being on the rise, and we all know how Beane values such things, but don’t underestimate how much he and the A’s value the durability. Year after year, the A’s are riddled with injuries — Bobby Crosby, the outfielders, Rich Harden, the list goes on and on — and having someone as dependable as Blanton to pencil in for 30+ starts a year has to be comforting.
Come mid- to late-July, you know the A’s will be active, they always are, but don’t look for Blanton to be someone involved in any deal.
Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere". Recently, he teamed up with his brother to launch Roto Front Office.
