One of the lesser heard names in this free agency is Mat Latos, but his stock is heating up recently, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers & Tampa Bay Rays showing signs they’re interesting in adding him to the mix.
Latos played on three different teams in 2015, beginning his time with the Miami Marlins before playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels as well. He didn’t do especially well in Miami, was poor for the Dodgers before getting and didn’t have a lot of time to leave hi mark in Anaheim. In short? Not Latos’ best season, but it’s not enough to drive teams away from him, even if his 4.95 ERA last season is a career worse.
One problem for Latos is the length of his next contract. Earlier in the offseason he was looking for a long term deal but considering how low his value has dropped since leaving the Cincinnati Reds, it’s going to be a one-year deal for him, regardless of who he signs with. It’s funny how things work: Latos posted two very good seasons (when he was healthy) in 2013 and 2014, but last year was a huge drop in consistency for him, which has kept teams away from trying to lock him up long term.
Whoever does end up signing Latos, it’ll probably be for the number 5 starter role or maybe even in a six man rotation. In 174 career starts (177 games altogether) he has a 64-55 record with a 3.51 ERA and averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He made $9.4 million last season while playing on three different teams, but will probably settle for less in order to find a home in 2016.