On Blanton

This from my buddy Doc on his blog:

On good authority

The Reds and Dodgers are talking with Oakland about Joe Blanton. Blanton has won 42 games in the past 3 years, was 14-10 last year and is already signed this year, to a relatively cheap $3.8 million deal.


Ken Rosenthal is reporting the same thing. The Reds were initially turned off by Oakland's high asking price when they talked about Blanton.

Wayne Krivsky, as per usual, would not comment specifically on the Blanton. But he did not rule out a trade before camp starts.

"You're always looking to improve," he said. "That never stops. We'll improve the team any way we can."

Joey Votto is the kind of player Billy Beane loves (high on-base percentage). You'd think the A's would want Homer Bailey or Johnny Cueto as well. I think the Reds would sooner give up Bailey than Cueto at this point.

The market for pitching has dried up a bit, i.e., Kyle Lohse and Livan Hernandez are still unemployed.

"I think you'll start seeing guys sign minor league contracts," Krivsky said.

He wasn't referring to Lohse or Hernandez, of course, but lesser free agents are in a tough spot. Camps open in a week, and 20 teams have full 40-man rosters.