Marlins acquire Mat Latos

The Miami Marlins have acquired Mat Latos from the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, according to reports. The teams have since announced the trade.

In return for Latos, the Reds get really promising pitching prospect Anthony DeSclafani and catching prospect Chad Wallach. DeSclafani was ranked as the Marlins' second-best prospect this offseason and will help net them Mat Latos, a really solid, young starter.

Latos, who just turned 27, has already spent six seasons in the big leagues, three with the Padres and three with Cincinnati. He missed about half this past season due to arm issues, but he is a fantastic performer when healthy. In 16 starts this season, Latos tossed 102.1 innings, posting a 3.25 ERA and a 3.65 FIP, resulting in a 1.5 fWAR. This is the first season with injury troubles for Latos, as he had tossed over 180 innings in all other full seasons he spent in the bigs.

Anthony DeSclafani is a great return for the Reds. The 24-year-old posted an ugly 6.27 ERA in 33 innings in the majors this past season, but that was after already spending time in both Rookie, Double- and Triple-A. DeSclafani strikes out hitters at a high rate and posted a 3.49 ERA in 59.1 innings in Triple-A this past season. He should slide right into the Reds rotation.

This is an interesting deal for Miami, who have dealt their second top pitching prospect in as many days. They acquired Dee Gordon yesterday for top prospect Andrew Heaney and flipped DeSclafani to the Reds today for Mat Latos. It looks like the Marlins are getting closer to contention and I would not be surprised if they made a run at a playoff spot in 2015.

As for the Reds, this deal makes sense for them. Latos will be a free agent at the end of next season, and now they get DeSclafani, who still has six years of team control ahead of him. With the Reds not being serious contenders, they were able to sell Latos on the high and get a player with a high ceiling in return. Ultimately, they made the smartest move possible for their situation.

--Devan Fink

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