The Miami Marlins have traded Mat Latos, Mike Morse and compensation pick number 34 in next years draft to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for three minor-league prospects, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times and Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
This comes minutes after Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reported that “indications remain” that the Marlins will move Latos in a trade by Friday.
Latos. 27, has proven to be an effective pitcher at the big league level, but the one concern that comes with him is character. In a report earlier this month, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com mentioned that Latos wore out his welcome with the Cincinnati Reds and it appears to be the same case this year with the Marlins.
Another reason the Marlins wanted to trade Latos, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post: Financial reasons. This season, Latos is making $9.4 million and he is still owed roughly $3.57 million this season.
Morse, 33, is joining his fifth team since 2013. He was a great buy-low addition for the Giants, as they saw him hit .279 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI in another World Series championship season. With the Marlins, Morse has gone back to his old ways, struggling mightily from the plate. Being able to send Morse and his expensive contract away is a good move for the Marlins.
Even with this trade, we should not rule the Dodgers out of the David Price and Cole Hamels sweepstakes. There has been plenty of buzz about the Dodgers adding two starting pitchers and there has been no indication that they will back off their pursuit of the coveted left-handed pitchers. Stay tuned.
Follow Robert Murray on Twitter @RobertMurrayBBE
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