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Rumor Mill: Joe Blanton

Per MLB Trade Rumors, Joe Blanton may be traded before the season begins. Ken Rosenthal, via his pseudo-creepy FOX Sports webcam, says chances are 50/50 Blanton gets dealt. He doesn’t mention the Phillies, but Tim Dierkes at MLBTR is quick to note a rumor from July that has the Phillies looking at Blanton.

The big, 27-year-old righty went 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA, 140 K and 40 BB last season for Oakland. For his career, he touts a pretty decent 4.10 ERA and 1.313 WHIP with a 42-34 record. He was signed to a $3.7M deal by the A’s for 2008, and has one year remaining of arbitration.

Considering the price tag, Blanton is a doable salary for the Phils. He might not be in the cards for a long-term solution (but wouldn’t be ruled out); still, as a No. 3 or 4 starter, he’s definitely passable. But what would it take to get him? Johan Santana was four players, Dan Haren was five. Erik Bedard â€” while not happening yet â€” would take five as well.

I would think a package of Carlos Carrasco/Josh Outman, Adrian Cardenas/Jason Donald and maybe Wes Helms could work. But I almost would be better off latching onto low-risk guys such as Kris Benson instead of trading the already sparse farm.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.