The Tough and Very Durable Exit of Joe Blanton

Well, that was interesting. As we all know, the A's traded SP Joe Blanton to the Phillies for three minor leaguers, in a move that appears to be more of a purge of their ML roster than an upgrade to their farm system.

Blanton is 5-12 4.96 at the time of the trade. All of his 2008 peripheral numbers were down. He toiled for the A's as your classic mid- to back-of-the-rotation starter, compiling a lifetime 47-46 record and a 4.25 ERA. He rarely, if ever, missed a start that I can recall. His 2008 salary is $3.7 million.

Contrary to what I thought no more than a month ago, the A's reportedly will call up SP Gio Gonzalez from Sacramento to fill the void in their rotation. They say Gonzalez has turned it around in AAA lately in his last four starts. If so, he will be a great addition to the A's rotation. For now, the A's have recalled Lenny DiNardo from Sacramento. The 28-year-old southpaw DiNardo was 6-3 4.09 with the RiverCats, displaying exceptional control with a 9.25 K-BB ratio.

How little did the A's get for Blanton? Well, I don't see any of these guys making The Show, and I'll just leave it at that. OF Matthew Spencer, 22, hit .320 9 26 last year at Williamsport in the short-season NY-Penn League. He has good power but was not a top prospect in that league. He doesn't exactly fit the A's mold, but plate discipline can be taught.

2B (Do the A's really need another one of these) Adrian Cardenas is a 20-year-old burner who is a little higher rated than Spencer. He has great OBP potential and extreme speed, stealing 16 bases this year without being caught. Last year with the Lakewood BlueClaws, Cardenas was .295 9 79, with 20 SB and 7 CS. Cardenas fields his position well. Cardenas was young for the Sallie League last year and for Hi-A this year, and that counts for much in the minors. He could help bridge the gap until Jemile Weeks is ready. Just a thought ...

Finally, the A's continued to stockpile LHPs by picking up minor league swingman Josh Outman in the Blanton deal. Outman is 5-4 3.20 with the Phils' Eastern League affiliate in Reading this year. Even last year, Outman toiled as a middling SP prospect with Clearwater in the Florida State League and Reading, where his performance predictably tailed off after a late-season promotion. Outman throws hard, but has control issues.

With these acquisitions, it's hard to see the Blanton deal as anything more than a salary dump. Pat Gillick is no slouch. As a GM, he can deal with the best salesman's spiel Billy Beane can offer. He dumped Unit, A-Rod and The Kid and built the Mariners into a 116-win squad not that long ago. So it's obvious someone in the Phillies' organization thinks they can turn around the Bulldog's lost season.

It's less obvious what the A's see in their latest collection of prospects.