Buzz: Mets, Others, and Joe Blanton
…the buzz from oakland had long been that if the A’s decided to trade Dan Haren, and did, they would next look to trade Joe Blanton, as well…
…last week, haren was traded to Arizona…as such, from what i can gather, several teams, including the Mets, have recently inquired about blanton, who 
will likely cost a step below what the Twins are asking for Johan Santana, such as Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Fernando Martinez, along with at least one other pitcher…for what it’s worth, during the Winter Meetings, i recall hearing that Oakland is not very interested in Mike Pelfrey…
…also, as best i can tell, A’s GM Billy Beane’s so-called ‘love’ for Lastings Milledge had been way, way overhyped by reporters, talk-show hosts, fans and bloggers…basically, beane wanted to draft milledge many years ago, but the Mets did…and in that first year or so, he expressed some interest in acquiring him, but it never panned out and that was that…love affair over…in other words, at no point during the last year was milledge enough to net blanton, as we all assumed he could…
According to Buster Olney at his blog for ESPN.com, the Mariners ‘are in the thick of the bidding’ for Blanton, who could cost them at least OF Adam Jones, who is considered Seattle’s top prospect.
This past season for the A’s, Blanton was 14–10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start.
He has made at least 32 starts in each of his last three seasons.
He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and eligible for free agency after 2010.
…my guess is that if the Mets need to part with humber, mulvey, another pitcher, and gomez or fernando for blanton, they’ll just bite the bullet, package them all, and keep focus on santana…
