The Phillies have reached an agreement with the Oakland Athletics to acquire right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton.

“We’ve been attempting to upgrade our rotation and we feel like we’ve done that,” Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. “We think Joe is a very strong, competitive pitcher that has the mental makeup to pitch productively in a pennant race. He pitches a lot of innings and takes some burden off the bullpen.

The Athletics get second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer, all minor leaguers.

Source: ESPN

This is definitely a step in the right direction for Philadelphia. Their starting pitching just wasn’t getting the job done. I don’t think Blanton puts them over the top but he definitely adds another weapon to their rotation. He hasn’t been the same pitcher he was this year as he was last year though, with a 5-11 record and a 4.96 ERA. Maybe a change of scenery will help him return to 2007 form. You have to feel for Athletic fans who just saw their team trade away Rich Harden and have now traded Joe Blanton. It seems like just yesterday when they had the best pitching trio in the league, “the big three” with Zito, Hudson and Mulder. Now it appears they’re trying to rebuild.