For those who said Latos would not be traded this offseason...

[Roll Tide]

Alonso >> Rizzo/Blanks.

Im not sure I agree with this ...compare Alonso's minor numbers to Blanks. I think Blanks #s are better. Also they are close in age Blanks is like 7 months older.

Blanks has had 3 seasons of less than 200 ABs ...He has been a .300 plus hitter all through the minors...Get him and give him the 1B job and let him play everyday.

[Moose Milligan]

RIP, Guthrie to the Reds for Alonso. 2010-2011. You will not be missed.

[MrOrange82]

RIP, Guthrie to the Reds for Alonso. 2010-2011. You will not be missed.

To be swiftly replaced by the gold-digging, new-boobed "I wonder if the Padres would flip Alonso for Guthrie, since they don't really need three first basemen" mantra.

[OrioleMagic]

Maybe trade one of them and some of the others they just got to the Orioles for a certain player from the San Diego area;)

I would have wanted Latos in any trade for Adam Jones. (If that is who you are thinking...)

I don't want to trade Jones unless we are getting a young SP who is a potential Ace in return.

[jtschrei]

When I first saw the deal I thought, WHAT A haul by SD. Wow. What does Latos bring you over Volquez.... 5 wins max, plus 50 innings?? AND they get 3 good prospects.

I don't see how the O's could have gotten Latos when the Padres got this deal. We just don't have the pitching depth in the minors to trade BMat and feel good about it. I love how for these other teams though, ANYONE is expendable. I can only hope that DD has the same freedom to trade ANYONE for the right price.

[El Gordo]

To be swiftly replaced by the gold-digging, new-boobed "I wonder if the Padres would flip Alonso for Guthrie, since they don't really need three first basemen" mantra.

What about Blanks for Guthrie?

[Sports Guy]

Does Jim Johnson get us Rizzo?

[MrOrange82]

Anyone have a backstory on on Blanks? Injury case? Seems like a question mark.

As for Johnson/Rizzo...I'd do that, which makes me think the Padres wouldn't.

[section18]

Padres taking calls about Rizzo

http://baseballmoves.com/2011/12/17/anthony-rizzo-padres-2/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[section18]

Reds Continue To Look For Pitching

By Mike Axisa [December 17 at 10:46pm CST]

The Reds made a significant addition to their rotation today by trading for Mat Latos, but ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that they are still looking for ways to upgrade their pitching staff. They could still add another starter at some point.

Latos figures to join Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo, and Mike Leake in Cincinnati's rotation next season, with Travis Wood in reserve as the sixth starter. Cueto finished the season on the disabled list with a shoulder strain though, and Leake was the only other member of the rotation to finish the year with an ERA under 4.40. Plans to move Aroldis Chapman into the rotation hit a snag when a shoulder issue kept him out of winter ball.

The Reds were said to have interest in Jair Jurrjens, Gio Gonzalez, and James Shields recently, but it's tough to see them swinging another trade of that caliber after landing Latos. Unsigned free agents like Zach Duke and Rodrigo Lopez could serve as decent depth pieces on minor league contracts.

[MikeAD]

What on earth are the Reds thinking. I bet every GM is kicking themselves right now.

This is like when your fat, mean, ugly friend goes home with 1990s Cindy Crawford and his only reason was "I was there" and you stayed home that night to play Mario.

[Can_of_corn]

When I first saw the deal I thought, WHAT A haul by SD. Wow. What does Latos bring you over Volquez.... 5 wins max, plus 50 innings?? AND they get 3 good prospects.

I don't see how the O's could have gotten Latos when the Padres got this deal. We just don't have the pitching depth in the minors to trade BMat and feel good about it. I love how for these other teams though, ANYONE is expendable. I can only hope that DD has the same freedom to trade ANYONE for the right price.

Volquez ML service: 4.059

Latos ML service: 2.079

[Sports Guy]

The Reds have a 2 year window to win with Votto.

Does Latos give them a better chance to win vs those players or what else those players could have gotten you?

[Tony-OH]

BMat for Alonso and Boxberger at least. I think SD is a perfect fit for Matusz, and Alonso would be best suited for an AL team with a hole at 1B and a short fence.

It's a good match, but Matusz has more upside than Alonso I think, so you have to figure out how to balance things. I really think Boxberger could be a closer, or at least a good set-up man, which would enable us to experiment with JJ in the rotation or deal him.

I was thinking that myself. Matusz is such a natural fit for SD and he might thrive in the national league environment in a pitcher friendly stadium.