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Getty Images The Angels are staying busy Wednesday, picking up Joe Blanton on a two-year, $15 million contract to add to their rotation.
The deal includes an option for 2015, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Blanton went 10-13 with a 4.71 ERA for the Phillies and Dodgers last season, though he did post a fine 166/34 K/BB ratio in the process. He’s a pretty good fit in a big Angels Stadium that hasn’t been yielding a lot of home runs of late.
Blanton will presumably be the fourth starter in a rotation that also includes Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Tommy Hanson, with one more pitcher still to be signed. With Blanton making $7.5 million and Hanson due about $4 million in arbitration, the Angels should still have at least $8 million-$12 million left to spend on a No. 3 starter with Dan Haren and Ervin Santana having departed and Zack Greinke almost sure to join them.
Assuming the Angels do land that additional starter, then Garrett Richards will head back to Triple-A for more seasoning.
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He’s still employed by the Dodgers. And Davey Johnson is still employed by the Nats. But the latter situation is only going to last for this year and the former could end at any time. In light of that Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.com hears some chatter that the former could replace the latter: People…
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AP
How long is a pitcher sidelined after he punches a locker with his pitching hand and breaks it (the hand, not the locker)? Well, in Ryan Mattheus‘ case 4-6 weeks. That’s the official word from the Nationals and as Amanda Comak of the Washington Times notes the good news is that the reliever won’t need…
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I was a big fan of Drew Sheppard’s Gif of Yu Darvish throwing five different pitches. As were some folks in Japan, who inexplicably made that post the most-read thing in the history of HardballTalk. By a wide margin. But I think I’m more impressed by Drew putting six Miguel Cabrera home runs into one…
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Hey, Kay asked me buy or sell, I gave my answer.
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Blue Jays left-hander Darren Oliver has been his usual effective self this season at age 42, posting a sub-3.25 ERA for the sixth straight season, but now he’s headed to the disabled list with a strained shoulder. To replace Oliver on the roster Toronto called up Double-A left-hander Sean Nolin, a 23-year-old who was their…
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Richie Ashburn’s gravesite is being threatened by development
May 24, 2013, 11:37 AM EDT
Phillies great Richie Ashburn died in 1997. Until now he has been resting in peace. Some, as Victor Fiorillo of the Philly Post repots, are worried that won’t be the case for long: His family buried him in the cemetery outside of Gladwyne Methodist Church, where all was quiet until some developers announced plans to…
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AP
After two injury wrecked seasons the Twins have been remarkably healthy so far, but their lone significant injury has provided a glimpse into the same question health marks that got the head trainer fired this offseason. Backup outfielder Darin Mastroianni injured his ankle late in spring training, but instead of simply placing him on the…
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Today is Bob Dylan’s 72nd birthday. Bob Dylan likes baseball a lot. He devoted a whole episode of his radio show to baseball songs a few years back and it was fantastic. He also wrote and recorded a song about Catfish Hunter for the “Desire” album in 1976 but he left it off. No reason…
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Mike Trout hit for the cycle Tuesday, notched two more hits Wednesday, and took Ervin Santana deep last night for the longest homer of his career. Trout watched Santana serve up a league-high 39 homers when they were teammates last season and the Angels homered off him four times last night, including this 463-foot monster…
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There’s a lot of projecting Miguel Cabrera‘s season forward going on today. Saw Buster Olney doing it on Twitter. They’re doing it at High Heat Stats today too. If you play the on-pace game, Cabrera could have, like, 200 RBI. Odds don’t favor that, of course. He’s likely to slump at some point. Well, maybe.…
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Dodgers shift former first-rounder Aaron Miller from pitcher to outfielder
May 24, 2013, 10:15 AM EDT
Dodgers prospect and 2009 first-round pick Aaron Miller is giving up on pitching and moving to the outfield. Miller fared well in the low minors, but the left-hander posted a 5.03 ERA with 101 walks in 168 innings at Double-A and also dealt with some injuries. He played some outfield in college at Baylor University,…
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Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s baseball bonafides are beyond reproach. A big Yankees fan from youth. The judge who effectively ended the strike in 1995. She knows her stuff. So she was the perfect choice to sit in on a mock oral re-argument of the famous Curt Flood case, which sought to end the reserve…
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And it’s not just saying “robot umps now,” no matter how satisfying that is. Â Writing over at Murray Chass’s blog, the former Commissioner of Baseball Fay Vincent says that MLB needs to take total control of umpiring: MLB should buy the umpire schools and take over the training and development of all umpires in professional…
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Recently there has been some talk about the fans in Toronto getting too drunk and too rowdy for their own good. We saw a bit of it last night. Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth made a nice catch, falling into the stands. When he got back up and got on the field, a fan wasted a…
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Indians 12, Red Sox 3: The Tribe’s bats had a nice night with Yan Gomes, Mark Reynolds and Michael Bourn all racking up multiple RBI. Oh, and you may or may not have heard this, but Terry Francona, currently the Indians’ manager, used to be the Red Sox manager and this was his first time back in Boston since he…
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If you watch enough baseball games, you’ll see the occasional error with an in-game graphic. You know how it goes, perhaps a player’s name is misspelled or the wrong name is shown with a particular player. However, we hit the jackpot tonight. In the FOX Sports Kansas City broadcast of the Angels-Royals game, there was…
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Austin Jackson is eligible to return from the disabled list on Monday, but it’s unlikely he’ll be ready by then. According to Chris Iott of MLive.com, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said today that Jackson “really hasn’t done any physical activity” since he was placed on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring on May…
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When Dodgers manager Don Mattingly made some pointed comments about his team yesterday, many thought that it was the beginning of the end for him in Los Angeles. It still might be, but the Dodgers are sticking with him for now. After we learned last night that Mattingly will indeed be the manager for Friday’s…
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Chase Utley headed to disabled list with mild oblique strain
May 23, 2013, 8:25 PM EDT
AP
After Chase Utley was scratched from the lineup earlier this week due to a “burning sensation” in his rib cage, it appeared unlikely that he would be able to avoid an extended absence, so it comes as no surprise that the Phillies are placing him the 15-day disabled list. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that…
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AP
After testing his right wrist in simulated games this week, Mark Teixeira is almost ready to take the next step. According to Erik Boland of New York Daily News, Teixeira could begin a minor league rehab assignment next Tuesday with Double-A Trenton. The veteran first baseman said last week that he expected to be back…
