Joe Blanton wants to pitch in 2015

Joe Blanton did not throw a single pitch in baseball in 2014, but he would like to pitch in 2015. The former Phillies pitcher is reportedly set to hold a public work out and throwing session in front of any interested parties next week (February 4 according to MLB Trade Rumors). The Phillies need a starting pitcher…

I would not expect the Phillies being among any potential teams with interest, but not because the Phillies are set on a starting rotation. Blanton was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 for a player to be named, which ended up being Ryan O’Sullivan a couple of weeks later. Blanton had struggled before being traded away by the Phillies. At the time he was traded, Blanton had gone 8-9 with a 4.59 ERA.

The big problem for Blanton was the long ball. Blanton had served up 22 home runs in 21 games. He only appeared in 11 games in 2011 and had given up 57 home runs the previous two seasons. Sure, Blanton gave us one of the best moments of the 2008 postseason with a home run against Tampa Bay, but his ability to be a so-called innings eater was starting to fade before he was moved to the Dodgers.

As noted by MLB Trade Rumors, the Oakland A’s appear to be the most likely team to have any legitimate interest in Blanton. Oakland is where Blanton first broke into the big leagues, and it just so happens Blanton owns a home in Nashville, which is where Oakland has a triple-A affiliate. The coming home story in sports appears to be a trend lately, but this would not be quite on par with LeBron James returning to Cleveland. My first thought was Blanton would be able to get away with long fly balls more in Oakland than he would in Philadelphia, but when I double checked the field dimensions of both stadiums I found the field in Oakland is actually slightly smaller. Uh-oh.