Are Adam Eaton's days as a Phillies' starter numbered?  Thursday afternoon, the Phillies traded three prospects for Oakland Athletics pitcher Joe Blanton which might mean the Phillies have seen enough out of Eaton this season.  To land Blanton, the Phillies sent second baseman Adrian Cardenas and outfielder Matt Spencer from Class A Clearwater and pitcher Josh Outman from Double-A Reading.

Blanton has struggled in 2008 but is tied for the American League lead in starts and is sixth in innings pitched.  He set a club record with 12 losses prior to the All-Star break and is currently tied for the Major League lead in losses.  At the break, Blanton was 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA, was third in the AL in hits allowed and tied for third in runs.  In his career, the 27-year old right-hander is 47-46 with a 4.25 ERA in 122 games with all but four being starts.

With the addition of Blanton, the Phillies will add him to the rotation.  How this affects the return of Brett Myers from Triple-A Lehigh Valley scheduled for next week's series with the Mets or the future of Eaton is unknown.  Eaton is 1-5 with a 8.40 ERA in his last six starts.

The Athletics received the Phillies' number two and number four prospects in Cardenas and Outman.  Cardenas, 20, hit .309 with four homers and 23 RBI in 67 games at Clearwater and was a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen bases.  Outman, 23, is a lefty and was 5-4 with a 3.20 ERA at Reading.

To round out the trade, the Athletics picked up Spencer, a 22-year old outfielder from Clearwater who was the Phillies' third round pick in 2007.  At Clearwater, Spencer hit .249 with six home runs and 41 RBI in 84 games.