Reds still pursuing Blanton, A’s waiting on Red Sox
The Chicago Tribune suggests that the Cincinnati Reds haven’t backed off their pursuit of the Oakland A’s Joe Blanton, however, the common feeling is that the A’s are waiting on the Red Sox to come calling.
It was thought that when Curt Schilling’s injury saga was unveiled, the Red Sox would ask about the availability of Blanton, but they have yet to do so. The A’s would love to get in a prospects war between the Reds and Red Sox. They would have more leverage in the deal if two or more teams were competing, but with only one team offering players in exchange, they may be better off to wait before making the trade.
If memory serves, when the Red Sox and Yankees were fighting with each other for Santana, the Twins had some pretty nice offers on the table, but when those two teams backed off and the Twins were left talking to just the Mets, the Mets didn’t have to budge on their offer as they knew no one else would come in and beat it.
Filed under: Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Joe Blanton, Oakland Athletics