O’s in on Blanton, Pence to Giants “Could Happen”

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman is reporting that while the Orioles are currently declining to give up top infield prospect Jonathan Schoop, there is “smoke” around a Joe Blanton-to-Baltimore deal. The Phillies reportedly faxed Blanton’s medical history to Baltimore earlier toady. Schoop could be quite a catch for the Phils, as the 20 year old is currently hitting .244/.301/.391 in Double-A. Schoop’s primary position is shortstop but is believed to be effectively blocked at the in the Orioles system by mega-prospect Manny Machado and has been playing second base. Machado was a first round pick, third overall, for the O’s in 2010.

For what it’s worth, Schoop and Machado have similar stats in Double-A (.250/.337/.403) but Machado has the better pedigree. Machado was ranked 14th overall in the FanGraphs Top 100 prospect list while Schoop missed the cut. Schoop would be a coup for Blanton but that ship may have sailed according to Heyman as a major point of contention seems to be Baltimore absorbing the over $3 million left on Blanton’s contract. Jayson Stark is reporting the teams are in the “haggling” stage of the deal, with the Phillies getting a better prospect if they include more money.

Heyman reported shortly after the Blanton update that the Pence-to-Giants deal again has life. Heyman stated the Giants are determined to add a hitter. Earlier today, we explored what a possible package for Pence would look like and what it would mean for the Phillies.