From 2010-2013, Mat Latos was a rotation stalwart for the Padres and Reds, posting a 51-35, 3.27 line, fanning nearly a batter per frame, averaging just under 200 innings and serving as ace of the staff.
Always known as a bit of a hothead, Latos verbally flipped off the Reds when they sent him to Miami for prospects. And there, his strikeout rate plummeted, ERA skyrocketed, good health evaporated and general prospects disappeared. By the end of last season, which he spent hopscotching across three Major League and two Minor League teams, the Mat Latos baseball chapter appeared closed.
This past week, with Latos slinking towards baseball oblivion, the desperate White Sox inked him to a one-year, $3 million deal in the hopes that he can recover some of the magic of his first four full seasons. In an age of $15 million qualifying offers, the relatively paltry free agent sum Latos commanded is testimony to how little teams now value him. An ace 12 months ago, he is today barely in the deck, and if his results don't improve quickly, he'll enter trivia answer status a year hence.
The familiar arc of Latos's career will play out again for someone else this year, as every year. Some reliable hurler or another will, in baseball terms, suddenly fall off the cliff, and the team confidently dependent on his performance will unexpectedly suffer in the standings. That it will occur is certain; to whom is the mystery and what makes predictions such slippery business.
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