While he’s kind of always been just “another guy” in rotations and on pitching staffs throughout his career, Joe Blanton is now something more. His $4 MM salary commanded as a 12-year veteran of MLB is a bargain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Like many a starting big league pitcher past their prime, a move to the bullpen gives a baseball player the chance to extend their career and carry on living the dream lifestyle for a while longer. For Joe Blanton and the Los Angeles Dodgers, this has been so.
Blanton, a husky 35-year-old right hander from Bowling Green, KY, first donned a big league uniform back in 2004 with the Oakland Athletics. Since then, he was a mostly reliable arm that could eat innings at the back end of a rotation.
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Blanton started 252 games from 2005-15, going 92-91 with a 4.43 ERA. He won a World Series ring with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, the second organization he would play for.
In 2012 as a starter, things began to unravel. Blanton was traded by the Phils to the Dodgers, but his 10-13 record with a 4.71 ERA across 30 starts was replacement level play. The wheels came off the following season, this time playing for another SoCal team in the Angels of Anaheim.
Los Angeles the first time around was not friendly to the burly right hander. He appeared in 28 games (20 starts), registering only two wins and 14 losses with a 6.04 ERA and 5.12 FIP. No, 2013 was not a kind year to Blanton’s career, nor was 2014.
2014 brought with it a return to the minors for Blanton. His old Oakland A’s team signed him to a deal and out-righted him to Triple-A before Opening Day. He made two starts and announced his retirement.
But the offseason brought with it a new determination and the beginnings of a comeback. The then defending American League champion Royals signed him to yet another minor league deal, and Blanton clawed his way back to the show, pitching 41.2 innings for Kansas City before being designated for assignment when the Royals traded for Johnny Cueto.
He swiftly found a new home in Pittsburgh that same season though, and rather stunningly, became a very viable bullpen option in the NL for the Pirates. Blanton pitched to the tune of a 1.57 ERA in 21 relief appearances, going a perfect 5-0. Opponents hit only .206 against him as a Bucs pitcher.
This year, a return to La La Land has been a fortuitous one for the veteran who has grinded out a pro baseball career for himself throughout most of his thirties.
Batters are struggling to hit Blanton. Of relievers with 50 or more innings logged this season, his BAA of .159 ranks third across all of MLB. His K/9 of 8.9 is well above his career norm of 6.5, as well. The Dodgers and freshman manager Dave Roberts have used him very well so far in his 48 appearances, 12 of which have seen him finishing the game on the bump for Los Angeles.
If his current 2.34 ERA holds up, it would set a new personal best over an entire season for Blanton, besting 2015’s 2.92 split across two clubs.
A few things are signalling Blanton’s new found success with the contending Dodgers. For beginners, he has almost abandoned his sinker and is using a slider as his most frequent offering. It’s making his fastball more effective too, as opponents are hitting only .122 versus the heater.
In 2010 and 2011, Blanton used his sinker more than any other pitch. He has thrown it only 90 times this year with LA, the fifth most of any of his pitches. While mixing things up more has paid off, his arm likely isn’t experiencing the fatigue it did as a starter, either.
But Blanton has been his sharpest when used in back-to-back outings on zero days of rest, posting a 3-0 record with no earned runs over 12.1 of his innings pitched.
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With Clayton Kershaw banged up and Scott Kazmir struggling, trade rumors are swirling in Chavez Ravine. Blanton has been anything but a disappointment though, and continues to be an arm the club can turn to when hairy situations arise.