Mat Latos nets a haul

[Frayed Knot]

Padres deal starter Mat Latos [9-14 in 20011 although w/decent ERA & WHiP: 3.47/1.18] to the Reds for Edison Volquez plus three recent 1st round draft picks.
- Yonder Alonso -- a 1B taken as the 7th overall pick in 2008 (10 picks ahead of Ike) out of U-Miami, he had a good showing with the bat during a call-up this past year (.330/.398/.545 in 88 ABs) although is defensively limited to 1st and is blocked by Joey Votto
- Brad Boxberger -- RHP who was a supp 1st round pick in 2009 from USC ... posted a combined 2.03 ERA; 93/28 K/BB in 62 IPs over AA & AAA. Seen as possible future closer or, at worst, solid middle reliever.
- Yasmani Grandal -- one of two Cincy catching prospects (mentioned here before) he, like Alonso, was a 1st round pick out of U-Miami (12th overall in 2010. Switch-hitter, good bat [.305/.401/.500; 14 HRs mixed between High-A, AA & AAA] with a decent arm but is a step behind Devin Mesoraco on the Reds' depth chart.

Sounds to me like a nice haul for a good though not great (though just turned 24) pitcher: a replacement pitcher (even though an erratic one) plus three prospects who are both good and should be just about ready to contribute.

Don't think we could have gotten that for Niese but it maybe helps explain why they were/are dangling him.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

geez cheese louise

[Edgy MD]

I know, right. I heard Cincy offered some Johnny Bench DNA to sweeten the deal. San Diego said thanks just the same.

[Fman99]

Crikey. Quite a haul for one guy. Volquez alone is comparable in terms of potential goodness, let alone three blue chippers.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

With Mesoraco and Votto-- presumably-- around for the long-term, Alonso and Grandal are sorta extraneous. But, man alive...

To be fair, Volquez is four years older and not as polished/good, walking a shit-ton more batters than Latos and posting below-average ERA+ in each of the last three years. (Keep in mind, that 3.47/1.18, 3-to-1 K-to-BB Latos posted last year came in an injury-plagued, off-year kinda season. Keep also in mind that Latos is still pre-arb.)

[smg58]

The change in ballpark won't help Latos, but he should still be an effective pitcher. That being said, the Reds paid for a bona fide ace and got a respectable #2.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

That respectable #2 put up more K/9, fewer BB/9, and a lower HR rate (with park factor being essentially a wash) than Felix Hernandez over the last two years.

The question isn't his top-end performance (which, by the way, is achieved at near-minimum wage for another year, and under team control for another four); it's his durability.

[ashie62]

Latos had a sore shoulder most of April also... Odd deal

[Frayed Knot]

Just a quickie comparison of career numbers finds some pretty significant differences:

[table:3hi2m6qc][tr:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc][/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]IP[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]H[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]ER[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]K[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]BB[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]ERA[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]WHiP[/td:3hi2m6qc][/tr:3hi2m6qc][tr:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]LATOS[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]430[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]361[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]161[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]413[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]135[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]3.37[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]1.15[/td:3hi2m6qc][/tr:3hi2m6qc][tr:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]NIESE[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]371[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]417[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]181[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]315[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]123[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]4.39[/td:3hi2m6qc][td:3hi2m6qc]1.46[/td:3hi2m6qc][/tr:3hi2m6qc][/table:3hi2m6qc]

Latos is also 14 months younger

[Guest attgig]

Latos is FAR superior pitcher, though in SD, he got no recognition. Of course, people keep on throwing out petco effect to diminish his abilities.

Niese would NOT have gotten us anything close to that. he'd be a #4 or #5 in most contending teams and with the number of FA's still out there, no team was going to trade much for him. If Sandy somehow pulls something out for us, I'd have new found respect for his abilities.

[ashie62]

Latos starts as a 2 behind Cueto.