The Phillies have acquired 27-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton from the A’s for Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman and Matthew Spencer. The cost was pretty steep for Blanton but the Phillies needed a workhorse type starting pitcher to help out both the rotation and the bullpen and he will do that. Blanton started 20 games for the A’s this season and he was 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Coming to a team like the Phillies’ should help Blanton win more games because of the offense behind him. Blanton has now pitched in 122 games (118 starts) in his major league career and he is 47-46 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

20-year old lefty swinging Adrian Cardenas was the biggest key of the trade as he was the Phillies’ #2 prospect coming into the season according to Baseball America. Cardenas has played in 67 games in A-Ball this season and he was 80 for 259 (.309 avg, .818 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He will eventually be the starting 2B for the A’s down the road. 23-year old lefty starting pitcher Josh Outman was the #4 rated prospect in the Phillies’ system coming into this season according to Baseball America. Outman has pitched in 33 games (5 starts) in AA-Ball this season and he is 5-4 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. 21-year old lefty swinging Matt Spencer was the #28 prospect in the Phillies’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America. Spencer has played in 84 games in A-Ball this season and he is 76 for 305 (.249 avg, .684 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers, 41 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Phillies paid a big price for Blanton but that’s because they’re trying to win the World Series right now.

The Phillies have sent righty starting pitcher Brett Myers to AAA ball. He has been a huge disappointment for the Phillies this season. He has started 17 games for the Phillies in 2008 and he is 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has whiffed 88 batters in 101.2 innings this season which shows that he still has good stuff. But, he has grooved way too many fastballs this season as he has allowed 24 homers already. The Phillies will likely convert him back into a reliever which was a role he was very effective in last year.

The Phillies have released veteran lefty reliever Steve Kline as they weren’t happy with his progress in AAA ball. He pitched in 20 games in AAA for the Phillies and he was 0-2 with 1 save, a 5.16 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Kline might get to hook on with another team that wants to give him an audition because lefty relievers that can get someone out are in short supply. Still, Phillies’ management won’t likely lose any sleep over this.

The Phillies have acquired 34-year old lefty reliever Stephen Randolph from the Astros for a player to be named later. Randolph will likely be in AAA for the Phillies as an insurance policy. Randolph has pitched in 11 games in AAA this season and he is 0-1 with 2 saves, a 1.23 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has whiffed 21 batters but he has walked 11 batters in only 14.2 innings. He has pitched in 109 games (6 starts) in his major league career and he is 10-7 with a 5.52 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. The thing that has held Randolph back in his major league career is walks as he has walked 136 batters in 155 career innings in the show.

The Phillies have claimed 32-year old lefty swinging infielder Oscar Robles off waivers from the Padres. Robles played in 14 games in AAA for the Padres this season and he was only 11 for 53 (.208 avg, .592 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. On the plus side he only whiffed twice this season. Robles has played in 163 games in his major league career and he is 110 for 423 (.260 avg, .671 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 5 homers and 36 RBIs. Robles should help the Phillies out until Jimmy Rollins comes off the D.L.