Well, the rumors were correct – Mat Latos has been dealt from the Cincinnati Reds to the Miami Marlins for minor leaguers Anthony DeSclafani and Chad Wallach.
Latos going to #Marlins for DeSclafani and Chad Wallach.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2014
The 24-year old DeSclafani came over to Miami in the blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays two winters ago. In 2014, he spent time at three different levels, including a 33 inning stint in the majors. With Miami in the majors, he struck out 26 and walking five in those 33 innings, pitching to a 6.27 ERA. Over 102 1/3 innings with AA Jacksonville and AAA New Orleans, he combined to struck out 97 and walk 31 while pitching to a 3.78 ERA.
Wallach is a 23-year old catcher that split the year between Jupiter and Greensboro. In 97 games between the two levels, he hit .322/.431/.457 with seven homers. Interestingly, Wallach walked 62 times, and struck out just 46 times.
The book on Latos is out there, of course. I ran down his stats a couple hours ago, but here’s a brief refresher – 102 1/3 innings over 16 starts because of offseason meniscus surgery and late season elbow surgery. He pitched to a 3.25 ERA, struck out 74, and walked 26. He’ll be a free agent after 2015.
You can accuse Miami of doing a lot this winter, but you can’t say they’re not trying to improve their team. Whether or not they actually *have* done that is up for debate. The club also dealt reliever Dan Jennings to the White Sox for starter Andre Rienzo.
White Sox get LHP Dan Jennings from Marlins for RHP Andre Rienzo
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 11, 2014
Jennings had a 1.34 ERA in 40 1/3 innings for Miami in 2014, striking out 38 and walking 17. Rienzo made 18 appearances (11 starts) for the White Sox this past season, striking out 51 and walking 33 in 64 2/3 innings. Looks more like a move for the White Sox to continue strengthening their bullpen than anything else.
