Report: White Sox add depth, sign Mat Latos to one-year deal

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) The Chicago White Sox still have work to do. While the club made upgrades during the offseason, there are still some worrisome holes on the roster the team needs to address if they want to contend. They managed to plug one of those spots Tuesday, inking pitcher Mat Latos to a one-year deal, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.

While the top of the Sox’s rotation boasts an excellent trio, the back-end could use some work. Veteran John Danks has mostly been a replacement level pitcher since returning from shoulder issues, and Erik Johnson, while once promising, is completely unproven in the majors.

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That’s where Latos should help. The 28-year-old isn’t coming off a great season, posting a 4.95 ERA over 116 1/3 innings, but he has some bounce back potential. Prior to 2014, Latos had mostly settled in as a solid mid-rotation starter. Though his numbers were solid that season, he battled declining peripherals and injuries throughout the year.

That made Latos somewhat of a gamble in 2015. While he appeared to struggle on the surface, he showed some promising signs as well. Latos saw his strikeout rate shoot back up near his career norms. After posting a career low 17.6 percent rate in 2014, Latos managed a 20.2 percent rate in 2015. He also experienced awful luck when stranding runners. Latos, who usually strands 72.7 percent of inherited runners, posted a 63.8 percent strand rate in 2015.

Despite that, he still comes with plenty of risk. While those are some promising signs, it’s tough to overlook his overall poor performance. On top of that, he’s dealt with a number of injuries last season, averaging just 109 innings the last two years. It’s possible Latos is finally healthy, and reverts to being a workhorse again, but it’s not likely.

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Still, $3 million is a small price to pay to see if he has anything left in the tank. And it should help that he’ll work with pitching coach Don Cooper, who is widely considered to be one of the best in the business.

No matter what happens, it’s a worthwhile gamble for Chicago. The team has taken steps toward contention, but that’s no guarantee. They are close enough now, however, that even minimal moves like Latos could wind up making the difference over the course of such a long season. Also, it never hurts to have pitching depth.

Latos may never revert to his former self, but the White Sox don’t need him to do that. As long as he provides some cheap, effective innings at the back end of the rotation, they’ll be perfectly happy. If he’s anything more than that, they might be playing games in October.

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