Mat Latos to Marlins: Latest Trade Details, Comments and Reaction

Coming off a disappointing 76-86 season and seeing other teams in the National League Central continue to get stronger, the Cincinnati Reds seem poised to start looking toward the future by reportedly trading star pitcher Mat Latos to the Miami Marlins. 

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that the deal was done:

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports broke down the full details of the trade:

There were rumblings that the Reds were moving closer to a deal involving Latos during the winter meetings, according to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports:

One reason for the Reds making moves, as noted by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports when discussing Aroldis Chapman's status, is cutting payroll:

While Latos is still affordable—he's under team control through 2015 and is projected to make just $8.4 million through arbitration, per Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com—considering the 27-year-old hasn't had an ERA over 3.48 in a season since 2009, that salary figure is a bargain. 

However, Latos does come with a red flag. Last year was the first time since his rookie year that he failed to make at least 31 starts in a season, taking the mound 16 times due to various injuries throughout the year. The right-hander had elbow surgery in October 2013 to remove bone chips that hindered his training regimen. 

With a full offseason to prepare for 2015, Latos should be a strong bounce-back candidate. He's still very much in his prime years, has never been overworked despite four straight years of at least 31 starts from 2010-13 and has a strong track record of performance. 

Latos also learned how to be a better pitcher after being traded from the cavernous Petco Park to the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park prior to 2012. He allowed 1.1 home runs per nine innings in his first season with Cincinnati, but he allowed just 23 in 313 innings after that (0.7 per nine innings), per Baseball-Reference. 

It says a lot about Latos' evolution that he was able to have the same level of success in Cincinnati that he did in San Diego, which not a lot of pitchers can say. All he has to do is stay healthy to be a difference-maker in Miami's rotation next season. 

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