The San Diego Padres sent pitcher Mat Latos to the Reds for Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, Brad Boxberger and Edison Volquez. Alonso, Boxberger, and Grandal are all rising prosepcts, and the Rays had shown interest in both Alonso and Grandal. Volquez had a rough year last season, but he's shown promise as a ML starter since going to the Reds in the Josh Hamilton trade.
The package for Latos was massive for one pitcher. And while Latos is very good, he's not that good. This package, if offered, may have been close to making Andrew Friedman trade James Shields. Using this trade as a benchmark, it would seem like the Rays could have at least gotten Alonso and possibly Grandal for Wade Davis (The Rays don't need starting pitching, so including Volquez would not be needed). It's a bit interesting that Freidman was unable to pull off a deal. Maybe the Reds just really, really wanted Latos.
This trade does, however, open some possibilities for the Rays. There has been talk that the Padres may flip Alonso or trade their own Anthony Rizzo. Both are near-MLB ready first base prospects, so keeping both would be a waste. Considering the Rays had shown interest in Alonso and how first base is a position of need for Tampa Bay, I would expect the Rays to pursue one of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment