Joe Blanton Planning Comeback, Will Audition For Teams Next Week

Right-hander Joe Blanton is planning a comeback and will audition for teams on Feb. 4 in Nashville, Tenn., MLBTR has learned. Blanton will work out and throw a bullpen for those teams in attendance. Blanton has been on a throwing program in preparation for Spring Training, and as M. Blake Harrison noted (on Twitter) earlier this week, he’s been working out with Zach Duke — his neighbor in the Nashville area. Harrison also pointed out that the A’s are at least a logistical fit in theory, as Blanton has homes in California and Nashville (the new location of Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate).

Having just turned 34 in December, Blanton is perhaps younger than some may expect. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2013, when he struggled to a 6.04 ERA over 132 2/3 innings in his lone season with the Angels. Always one to post excellent strikeout-to-walk ratios, Blanton began to be plagued by home run problems in 2009, and those problems peaked in 2013, when more than 19 percent of the fly-balls hit against him left the yard.

However, Blanton was typically a reliable source of innings, clearing the 190 mark in six of his nine full seasons in the Majors. He’s had a relatively clean bill of health over the life of his career to this point, only missing significant time in 2011 due to an impingement in his right elbow. Blanton has a lifetime 4.51 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a  44.2 percent ground-ball rate in 1567 1/3 innings of work between the Athletics, Phillies, Dodgers and Angels.