Cole Hamels? David Price? No, Dodgers trade for Marlins’ Mat Latos
Miami Marlins starter Mat Latos delivers a pitch during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 21.
Cole Hamels this, David Price that, on and on for weeks. And the Dodgers got ... Mat Latos?
It’s fine, really. No need to be disappointed. The Dodgers’ starting rotation is better Wednesday than it was Tuesday.
And it still could get better. The Dodgers still have the prospects, the financial resources and the desire to get Hamels or Price — preferably Price.
Neither the Dodgers nor the Miami Marlins had made an announcement as of noon Wednesday, but sources say the Dodgers are getting Latos, first baseman-outfielder Michael Morse and a draft pick for three prospects, as yet unidentified.
The moral of this story: It’s good to be rich. The Dodgers got Latos, owed a little more than $3 million for the rest of the season, because they agreed to take Morse, owed $13.5 million through 2016.
The Dodgers do not need Morse — he is an aging version of Scott Van Slyke — but they also got a draft pick to help their revitalized minor league system. For the second time this season, the Dodgers essentially have purchased a “competitive balance” draft pick, intended to help small-market and low-revenue teams better compete.
Talk about revenue sharing: With this trade — and last winter’s trade in which the Dodgers sent Dee Gordon and Dan Haren to Miami and covered their entire salaries in 2015 — the Dodgers are paying 25% of the Marlins’ player salaries this season.
Latos is 4-7 with a 4.48 earned-run average this year, but 3-3 with a 2.96 ERA since returning from the disabled list after a bout with an inflamed knee.
The Dodgers do not need him to be Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke. They need him to be better than Carlos Frias and Zach Lee.
He is. You can talk all you want about setting up the rotation for the playoffs, and maybe the Dodgers should be running away with the National League West, but for now, every game counts.
The Dodgers led the San Francisco Giants by a half-game as of noon Wednesday; the Giants play an afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
So, when the Dodgers take the field Wednesday night against the Oakland Athletics, they might not have sole possession of first place in the NL West for the first time since May 29.
MORE
Dodgers drop Joc Pederson from leadoff spot
Dodgers reportedly acquire Mat Latos from Miami Marlins
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