The Pirates, Royals, Orioles, Brewers, and Rays have checked in on free agent starter Mat Latos, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Latos, he adds, is probably looking at one-year deal to re-establish his value.
One MLB official opined to Crasnick that Latos is “right up [Orioles GM] Dan Duquette’s alley,” (link). One also has to imagine that Latos makes a lot of sense for the Pirates, who have built a reputation as a team that can help pitchers restore their value. There have been questions about Latos’ makeup, Crasnick notes, but he also still has some upside at the age of 28.
All five of these teams are likely weighing Latos as a less costly commitment than many of the other top available starters at this juncture of the offseason. Veteran Scott Kazmir figures to net a nice payday on a multi-year deal and the Royals, who are said to have interest, could pivot to a guy like Latos if Kazmir does not fit in their budget. The other top hurlers left – Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy, and Wei-Yin Chen – would all require draft pick compensation from teams. Back in November, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Latos might get a one-year, $12MM deal and he pegged the Pirates as his landing spot.
A few years ago, Latos seemed in line for a monster free agent deal upon hitting the market at age 28. However, injuries and other struggles have drastically changed things. In 2015, he battled minor injuries but showed promise in his 16 starts with the Marlins this year before joining the Dodgers via trade. Latos struggled in six outings for the Dodgers and earned his release, hooking on with the Angels in late September to make a few relief appearances. In his 2015 stint with the Marlins, Latos pitched to a 4.48 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 over 88 1/3 innings. His ERA wasn’t stellar, but advanced ERA estimators viewed him more as a mid-3.00 ERA contributor.
Ray Searage could be the guy to straighten him out.
I agree, with the caveat that it’s very possible that Latos’ injuries may have taken such a toll that there may not be much there there.
Can’t get much straighter than his fastball.
Not too many better places to go than Pittsburgh on a one year re-build your value deals. Seems like a perfect fit for both Latos and The Pirates.
I like to see the Pirates get either him or Fister. The money and years that Kazmir wants is crazy especially with his elbow issues. Gallardo could had made a lot this year too but opted out so there’s another unrealistic scenario.
What elbow issues are you referring to? The one that he already recovered from before he was signed by Cleveland? What was that … 5 years ago?
The pirates are a perfect fit for Latos , he was an ace for the Reds and the Padres when he was healthy
Again another great fit for Atlanta to sign this guy will be cheap and hopefully could b an innings eater for our team
Latos would slot in perfectly as the Pirates #3 starter, bumping Niese to 4 and Locke holding down 5 until Glasnow or Taillon was ready. The team has money to spend too, so unless it get outrageous, they better pay up finally.
Actually forgot about Vogelsong. He and Locke can fight for the 5th spot. Locke could also be moved to try and acquire something else, but probably not much more than a bag of balls.
Well, when are the Orioles going to get something done here?
I want to hear about a solid offer and someone accepting a solid offer.
I am tired of hearing about ‘interest!!!!
There have been solid offers and players accepting those solid offers. Baltimore just hasn’t been involved.
Latos is a train wreak in the making
Quite possibly. I’d worry about signing him long term, but not on a one year deal. If I were Neal Huntington, I’d sign Latos to a one year deal and if he rebounded I wouldn’t touch him unless he gave the club a big discount. Too much risk long term, but for one year it’s worth it.
A disgrace to wear #55 on the Dodgers.
Reds should bring him back to eat innings IMO.
I wouldn’t want any of my young players being mentored by this guy. He’s known as a clubhouse cancer and after the comments he made about the Reds’ staff they shouldn’t touch him. He’d be a great fit for the Pirates if he didn’t have such a bad attitude but then again he’d be a great fit for a lot of clubs without that attitude…
playing thru injuries did him in. Latos will be good on a 1 year deal for most teams.
i don’t think his wife likes pittsburgh. she was assaulted in the bowtie bar and said some bad things, understandably about pittsburgh. never know though, it would be a good fit for both.
I’ll go one further than Mack22..I watched Latos pitch in L.A. last summer and he is a train wreck with a bad attitude. Ray Searage has a great track record for getting pitchers back on track but he will have his hands full with Latos if they take him on.