The Cincinnati Reds have four starting pitchers who will become free agents after the 2015 season. It's highly unlikely they'll be able to re-sign all of them, so they traded two of them to get value in return for the future.
Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake and Alfredo Simon were all potential candidates to be traded by Cincinnati. Homer Bailey signed an extension with the team last offseason and he's the only one under contract beyond the 2015 season. It's been a mystery if the Reds were open to trading any of the above mentioned four because they had a chance to succeed, but today it was clear when they sent Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon packing. At this point it's probable they'll keep Cueto, who had the fourth-best ERA (2.25) in the league last season, and Leake.
According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, the Reds were in discussions with the Miami Marlins about a trade for Mat Latos, and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal just confirmed the deal. The 27-year-old right-hander made only 16 starts last season because of injuries, but still posted a 5-5 record with a 3.25 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He's entering his third year of arbitration eligibility and is likely looking for a long-term deal when he becomes a free agent. He owns a career record of 60-45 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 153 starts with the San Diego Padres and Reds.
Miami sent pitcher Anthony DeSclafini and catcher Chad Wallach to the Reds for the right-hander.
The Marlins, who have Jose Fernandez, Henderson Alvarez, Nathan Eovaldi, Jarred Cosart, Tom Koehler and Dan Haren as candidates for the starting rotation next year, are still looking to upgrade and compete in the NL East. Fernandez is coming off of Tommy John surgery and should be back at some point in the middle of the season, and Dan Haren, who was just acquired from the Dodgers, might not pitch next year because he reiterated he would retire if he was traded to any other team aside from the Los Angeles Angels. The acquisition of Latos would improve their rotation and provide insurance.
As for Detroit, they traded starter Rick Porcello to the Boston Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes earlier today and filled the void left by Porcello with right-hander Alfredo Simon, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. The Tigers sent infielder Eugenio Suarez and minor league pitcher Jonathan Crawford to Cincinnati. Simon, in his first full season as a starter, was an All-Star this past season after amassing a 15-10 record with a 3.44 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 32 starts. He'll join a rotation that currently consists of Justin Verlander, David Price, Anibal Sanchez and Shane Greene. At this point it's unclear if the team is looking to re-sign starter Max Scherzer, but now that they have six starters (Kyle Lobstein as well) they might not bother spending the excessive dollars.
Tigers' general manager Dave Dombrowski indicated the team might execute another deal before the Winter Meetings end today, and it may involve one of their starting pitchers.
