Feb. 20--GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Perhaps every pitcher who fanned out to throw in front of White Sox leaders on the opening morning of spring training has something to prove, but not many have $3 million South Side dollars bet on a career revival, as Mat Latos does.
The Sox's newest acquisition, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound right-handed starter, joined his fifth team in two injury-riddled years Friday at Camelback Ranch with the idea that he's ready to move forward. If so, Latos, 28, could be a big boost to the back end of the rotation, and that potentially could give a big boost to his future earnings.
"If it winds up being longer, it winds up being longer," Latos said of his one-year deal with the Sox. "This is something I looked forward to as a best-fit scenario. I want to get on track. I want to win ballgames, go into the playoffs and go to the World Series."
In need of pitching depth after the Jeff Samardzija disappointment, the Sox found Latos in the bargain bin this offseason because of two down years. Those followed a strong four-year stretch with the Padres and Reds in which he posted an ERA below 3.50 each season and racked up nearly 800 innings overall.
But Latos had surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow late in 2013 and surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee during the 2014 season. He also had that knee drained of fluid last spring and spent time on the disabled list in 2015 because it was inflamed. In those two years, he went 9-15 with a 4.16 ERA in 2182/3 innings with four teams.
Latos said he worked with a physical therapist in Miami this offseason to strengthen his knee.
When asked if he's physically 100 percent, he responded: "Your words, not mine. (But) I feel great.
"A lot of things were on my mind throughout the 2014 and 2015 seasons about it and how the body felt, just dealing with lingering issues with it. The mechanics were a little different because of the weakness in my knee. I wasn't able stride out like normal. I just made minor little adjustments. The training program I was on, we strengthened a lot around the knee. This year I'm looking to get back to the way things were."
When Latos spotted new Sox catcher Dioner Navarro in a hallway at Camelback Ranch on Friday morning, he gave him a burly hug.
They were teammates on the 2012 Reds and they "clicked" right off, so much so that Navarro said he considered himself to be his "hashtag personal catcher." Latos likes the idea of being familiar with a catcher on his new team.
"We just had a great relationship," Navarro said. "He can be really good. He's going through a rough patch right now, but he's going to be out of it and hopefully I'll be part of it this season."
Latos also has another teammate who thinks the Sox acquisition could pan out well.
"I thought that was a great pickup for us, really, very under the radar," left-hander Chris Sale said. "He's a guy with a strong arm. He's going to give us some good innings and hopefully can put it together."
The addition of Latos seemingly pushes right-hander Erik Johnson from the rotation, despite his standout 2015 season at Triple-A Charlotte. But general manager Rick Hahn said the Sox are "not naive enough to think we'll have five guys make 32 starts" and said he believes Johnson or right-hander Jacob Turner could have an opportunity to "contribute in a meaningful way."
"Johnson is not going to approach it any differently in spring training," manager Robin Ventura said. "He has to be ready to compete and ready to pitch. We're not going to go through with just five guys. He's definitely in the plans for that."
ckane@tribpub.com
