Mat Latos trade continues to favor Miami Marlins

Miami continues to look good for dealing Mat Latos. Latos was not known to have the best reputation in the clubhouse and he is currently struggling with the Dodgers. His inability to throw strikes consistently ultimately led Los Angeles to turn to a four man rotation, at least for the time being.

Although Miami's rotation has been plagued by injuries of late, with Jose Fernandez, Henderson Alvarez, Jarred Cosart, and now David Phelps out, having Latos in the rotation at this point might not have proven to be beneficial. Over his last three starts, Latos has posted a 6.75 ERA and allowed 11 runs over 14.2 innings.

Though his time with the Dodgers has been limited, Latos did not have a notable amount of success when he was pitching for the Marlins. Before being moved, he posted a 4.48 ERA over 16 starts. He entered Wednesday's contest with a 4.81 ERA, which if it remains the same or increases, would be the highest of his career.

Latos' last appearance out of the bullpen came when he was in Single-A. Each of his 172 major league appearances has come with him as a starter and there is no indication Latos will thrive as a reliever. There might be something mechanically wrong and serving as the Dodgers' long reliever is unlikely to result in more success. Latos' struggles might prove to be costly, too, as he is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

When the Marlins moved Latos and his $9 million salary, the club was not short starting pitching depth. Even without several top arms, the Marlins will likely benefit from having pitching prospects such as Justin Nicolino and Adam Conley in the starting rotation. The Marlins are now looking towards 2016 and can take the final few weeks of the season to evaluate their controllable arms.

At the time, the Marlins made the right move to trade Latos and Michael Morse in a three team deal because Latos was an impending free agent and Morse was struggling offensively. Just a few weeks later, it appears even though Miami only received three pitching prospects in return, the club was right to trade Latos, who is now pitching out of the Dodgers' bullpen.