If they do add another starting pitcher (and Teheran's off the table since the Braves are asking for the major league equivalent in a hitter, something like Marcel Ozuna)...who would you keep in the rotation?

 

Latos over his last five starts.

 

26 2/3 IP, 41 hits, 21 ER, 11 walks (WHIP nearly 2), 13 K's

 

Must be noted team is 3-2 in those starts, fwiw.

 

Has given up 3 or more ER's for five consecutive starts.

 

ERA has risen from 0.74 to 4.06. 8 homers surrendered, and a 7.09 ERA across those starts.

 

 

Gonzalez has pitched MUCH better recently, but, like Jose Quintana....he carries the "jinx" with him, 13 consecutive starts (individually) with a no decision or loss, going back to his time in BALT last year.

 

The last time he won a game was JULY 25th, 2015.

This is a good question Caulfield. I wondered the same thing when the Shields rumor came out.

 

As of right I'd go with Gonzalez.

Outside of the Blue Jays game, Gonzalez hasn't pitched that bad. I guess the Yankee game when he was super bat shy for whatever reason.

Gonzalez

If you keep Latos, you can send down Gonzalez. You can't send down Latos without him clearing waivers.

Latos hasn't looked good in a month.

I'm Latos intolerant.

On the other hand, the team just seems to win when he's on the mound.

 

There's no quantifying it.

 

Right now, it's probably a toss-up. Guess it doesn't really matter, since Shields isn't going anywhere after giving up 10 runs today in a pitcher-friendly SAFECO.

 

Ranaudo's also been impressive enough desperation pitching trades aren't necessary at the moment.

They're both pitching capably as #5s leave them alone and forget Shields.

Latos comes at hitters with all kinds and colors of body parts. He often works outside the strike zone but when he keeps his walks down, he gets more swings and misses than Gonzales. My thinking is that Latos is our no.4 and Gonzales is a more temporary solution at the no.5. spot.

I would also forget about Shields. He's a lazy and very rich bum. He looks like he has been living the good life outside baseball with his millions. He packed on some weight and grew a nice gut and developed a nonchalant attitude about pitching. Ho-hum I got torched again.

Neither option is very good.

 

Latos: 4.02 ERA, 5.28 FIP, .268 BABIP

 

Gonzalez 4.09 ERA, FIP 4.54, BABIP .327

 

In Comparison

 

Shields: 4.28 ERA 4.41 FIP. Last start did hurt a lot.

Neither option is very good.

 

Latos: 4.02 ERA, 5.28 FIP, .268 BABIP

 

Gonzalez 4.09 ERA, FIP 4.54, BABIP .327

 

In Comparison

 

Shields: 4.28 ERA 4.41 FIP. Last start did hurt a lot.

The BABIP number makes me want Gonzalez, as I would expect that number to regress toward the mean BABIP in baseball. But you're right, it's a real rock and a hard place situation.

Neither option is very good.

 

Latos: 4.02 ERA, 5.28 FIP, .268 BABIP

 

Gonzalez 4.09 ERA, FIP 4.54, BABIP .327

 

In Comparison

 

Shields: 4.28 ERA 4.41 FIP. Last start did hurt a lot.

Maybe, but I'll take a 4.50 FIP/ERA from the 5th starter. I don't think it's that close, Gonzalez is better, if we acquire an SP it should be to replace Latos.

They're both pitching like #5 starters.

 

Latos started out amazingly, but his last few starts have been not so good. His most recent start was okay as two of those runs were unearned. Still, I think what we see now is what we'll have from this point on...at best.

 

Gonzalez started out rather poorly and has been slowly improving. If he can get the BB numbers down, he's look a lot better. I feel that he's trending toward being a better pitcher than Latos, but probably not by much.

 

With both of them, I feel that in every inning, with every pitch, there's the potential for a bad (very bad) inning. Right now they're both getting by without giving up the a ton of runs. If they can give us 5-6 innings giving up 3 runs or less, that would be great. But, no one likes the idea of having two #5 starters in the rotation.

 

All that being said, I'd prefer Gonzalez mainly because I think he's trending better while Latos is trending worse.

Latos seems like a guy who might be able to turn into a really effective reliever

John Danks got released after four starts with a 7.25 ERA.

 

Mat Latos over his last 7 starts has a 7.25 ERA.

I'm becoming Latos intolerant.

I'm becoming Latos intolerant.

 

I see what you did there.

I've said it before, but Gonzalez is the better starter. I also tend to think from a pitch style perspective, Latos has a better shot at being a better reliever (vs. Gonzalez who I don't think has typical reliever stuff). For whatever reason, when I watch Gonzalez pitch, I think, this guy is a solid back of the rotation guy. I don't get that feeling of Latos. That said, I have no idea how Latos would react to being moved to the pen (he'd probably go bats***), but I actually think it could be a benefit to his career as I think we'd see his velocity pop up and he'd actually be a bit more effective (mid 90's with that breaker could be pretty good).