Phils, Blanton nearly $3M apart; Vic through '11?

The Phillies and their three remaining arbitration eligible players, Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton and Carlos Ruiz, have exchanged figures.

According to reports, Victorino wants $5.8 million, the Phillies countered with $4.75 million; Blanton seeks $10.5 million, compared to the Phils offer of $7.5 million; and Carlos Ruiz has asked for $2.5 million, and the Phils offered $1.7 million. Blanton's request is nearly $5 million more than the right-hander earned last season. According to CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury, the club is trying to hammer out a multiyear deal with their centerfielder, one that would take him through 2011.

Beerleaguer: Is it any wonder the Phillies attempted to move Blanton this fall? This would be a record sum in arbitration. He's asking for $1.5 million more than Cliff Lee will make this season. To me, someone like Jason Marquis, who got a two-year, $15 million deal on the open market, is a fair Blanton comp. The Phillies went in low, but if the two sides head to arbitration with these figures, I like the Phils' chances.

Nevertheless, you can't blame the guy; Blanton is exactly the type of middle-of-the-road starter getting burned by this market, and this might actually be his best shot to cash in. A couple years ago, he could expect to hit Carlos Silva-type free agent paydirt. Not anymore brother.

Comments

[CJ]

I'm going to guess it's 3-years, $27M for Blanton at $8M, $9M, $10M.

[Andy]

Ten million dollars
Buys you a lot of sour mash
Lots of donuts too

[Brett]

Is this Blanton's last year of Arbitration?

[NEPP]

I would second CJ's guess. That sounds right.

If true, it puts us at $120 million committed for 2011.

[CJ]

Brett: I'm fairly certain Blanton has one more year of arbitration after this one.

[rjb360]

A 2/12 type deal for Victorino would be pretty great until Brown comes up. Hopefully $6m committed to Victorino next year wouldn't prevent them from going after Werth, who is perhaps the single most important piece to hold onto. They would probably have to break $140, at least for one year, to do so.

[NEPP]

Blanton is a free agent after 2010.

[Phillies Red]

Blanton will be or would have been a FA after this season, according to MLBtraderumors' 2011 FA list.

I can't find any confirmation on this agreement. Anyone have any good or reliable info?

[CJ]

Cot says this would be Blanton's last year of arbitration. Had my info wrong. He would be a free agent after this season without an extension.

Of course, I've seen no confirmation of this extension, so maybe WIP is wrong.

[NEPP]

I am beginning to think its wrong since nobody has mentioned it via Twitter.

Though, personally, I'm stunned that WIP would be wrong.

[Greg V.]

Blanton was good last season but he is not worth a $5 million raise. $7.5 is plenty for him if you ask me.

[euphronius]

Yeah Ok so i wasnt hallucinating when I head WIP say they signed Blanton for 3 years.

[euphronius]

Yeah I don't see them holding on to Werth. How is that going to work? Unless I guess we assume this is Howard's last contract as a Phillie

[clout]

Nothing on philly.com about Blanton. WIP may have gotten ahead of itself on this one. Not that it's a bad idea, especially if it were at the numbers CJ suggested.

[NEPP]

WIP blowing smoke as usual. Wonder how high their ratings jumped this afternoon?

[todd]

I doubt they jumped that much. Signing Blanton to a three year contract isn't OJ's Bronco chase.

[Chris in VT]

"Unless I guess we assume this is Howard's last contract as a Phillie"

That's pretty safe to assume. I don't think the Phils will give Howard the record-breaking contract he's said to want, nor do I really want to see them devote that much of their payroll to him.

[Chris in VT]

Just a thought...Any chance that Blanton (and agent) saw how hard the Phils worked to avoid the arbitration meetings last year and filed at an artificially high number to force the Phils to give them a mil or so more than they wanted to in order to avoid arbitration?

[Jack]

Chris: I think that's a possibility, but if so, I would hope the Phillies wouldn't fall victim to it. In fact, they may be more likely to stick to their guns on a lower number, considering their chances of winning in arbitration are higher now.

Not sure how I feel about Blanton on a 3-year deal. Depends on the money, obviously. You're signing him for his age 29-31 seasons, which means you should be getting close to his top performances (although no one really knows for sure). He's essentially a league-average pitcher or slightly above at this point (career OPS+ of 102). What is the going rate for that pitcher, when you have 1 year already under control? Is it possible that, in this economy, we'll actually pay Blanton more in arbitration (8-9 million) than he would get on the open market?

If that's the case, then we should avoid signing him to a 3-year deal based on what he's going to get this year. Personally, I think the numbers are about equal--he's going to get 8-9 million (assuming they settle) this year, and I think that's probably about what he's worth on the open market. Personally, I wouldn't go any higher than around 25 million on a 3-year deal for Blanton.

[Bob]

I know (1) the economics today are not the same as a couple of years ago; and (2) that there is a vast difference between arbitration and free agency $.

But I look at Vic's filing of $5.8M for a year and wonder if he isn't polishing his golden glove, pondering the contributions he has made to the Phils in so many ways over the past couple of years, participation in the WS win and another WS effort, and gnashing his teeth over the size of Aaron Rowand's paycheck.

No knock at Rowand, I loved him when he was here, but, timing is everything.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, new thread

[ozark]

Ruiz is worth much more than even he is asking for. What he may lack in offensive consistency he certainly makes up for on defense and handling pitchers. Quality catchers are difficult to replace and a good one is worth a great deal.

[DennyBones]

I think the Phils settle with Ruiz and Vic for mid-point salaries but they take Blanton to arb and win with 7.5 mil.