A's Trade Joe Blanton To Phillies

Oakland has traded RHP Joe Blanton to Philadelphia in exchange for three prospects, LHP Josh Outman, 2B Adrian Cardenas, and OF Matt Spencer. Outman was in AA while Cardenas and Spencer were in single-A. Cardenas was rated the Phils' number two prospect according to the Baseball America 2008 Prospect Handbook, and was the 2006 High School Player of the Year; a left-handed swinger, he has "middle-of-the-order" power potential. He's hitting .309/.374/.444 in the Florida State League. Outman was the Phils' number four prospect, with a 3.20 ERA and a 5-4 record with AA Reading, striking out close to a batter an inning (66 K's over 70.1 IP, 37 BB). By last name alone, he's gotta be better than Grant Balfour. Matt Spencer ranked 28th in the latest BA survey, he's scuffling a bit in single-A with a .249/.317/.367 line; he's had... [read full story]