Okay, buh bye now.
With last night’s agreement to sign free agent pitcher Cliff Lee all but official, the Phillies are looking to ship Joe Blanton out of town, and they may have found a suitor for the 30-year old rightie.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports mentioned this morning that Boston was a possible home for Blanton, and now Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman is tweeting that a deal is now in place.
I’m not exactly sure how Blanton would be a good fit the Red Sox. They already have a starting rotation with Tim Wakefield as a possible go-to guy in case of injury. Maybe their 2009 injury-filled campaign has scared them enough to carry seven starting pitchers.
As for the Phillies, this move is a must. With the money committed to Lee ($120 million with a vesting option), the Fightins will have to get some money off the books to approach a more reasonable payroll. Blanton still has $17 million remaining on his contract. As his departure seems more and more likely, it will be interesting to see what other moves the team may make to dump some more money cash. (coughcough…IBANEZ…coughcough)
Sorry… hairball.
Update: Ken Rosenthal is reporting that some in the Phillies organization want to keep Blanton as a cushion in case Oswalt exits in 2011. Payroll would be the biggest issue.
