The A's are trading Joe Blanton to Philadelphia for three minor-leaguers. Blanton, 27, is 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA this season, after going 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA last year.
"It's one of those deals where it's very bittersweet," Blanton told The Chronicle. "I'm going to a very good team with a very good lineup. They're in the division hunt and they're out to win a championship, and that's what any player wants. But I've always been with the A's, and I have great relationships there. It's one of those double-sided coins."
Blanton has had a rocky season. In a notable recent loss, on June 29 against the Giants in Oakland, he was tagged for seven runs and eight hits over four-plus innings in the Giants' 11-1 victory. In losing that game, he became the first pitcher in the AL to lose 11 games. At the time, he had given up 16 runs in his last 14 innings and lost five of six starts. He has been better at home (4.63 ERA) than away (5.74).
Blanton is 2-2 over his past four starts and in that stretch, he has been excellent in the first three innings, not allowing a run and giving up all of three hits in 39 at-bats (.077). From the fourth inning on in those four starts, he has an 11.25 ERA and the opponents are hitting .429.
The new A's are second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer.
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