CINCINNATI — The price tag for Mat Latos was daunting. The Cincinnati Reds were willing to pay it.

The Reds addressed their biggest offseason need Saturday, acquiring the right-handed starter from San Diego for a package of four players that includes two top prospects.

Cincinnati gave up infielder Yonder Alonso and catcher Yasmani Grandal — both first-round picks — along with starting pitcher Edinson Volquez to get the 24-year-old Latos, who initially will move into the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind Johnny Cueto. Latos went 9-14 with a 3.47 ERA for the Padres in 2011, finishing among the NL leaders in ERA and strikeouts.

The trade surprised Latos, who said the Padres had indicated to him he wouldn’t be going anywhere.

“A little bit of shock and a little bit of excitement,” Latos said, describing his reaction. “Shock because literally I wake up and I’m traded. Excitement because I’m excited to join a club that’s got a lot of talent and a lot of potential. I’m excited for new scenery.”

The Reds wanted him so badly they were willing to give up a lot.

“To acquire a pitcher who is ready to fit into the top of a rotation, you have to give up talent,” general manager Walt Jocketty said.

Latos joins a rotation that includes Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake and Homer Bailey. The rotation was a problem in 2011, with Cueto opening the season on the disabled list and Arroyo struggling with mononucleosis he contracted during spring training.

Heading into the offseason, the Reds needed to get another top starter and a closer to replace departed Francisco Cordero. They think they’ve filled their first need.

“When we have Cueto and Latos at the top of our rotation, I think people are going to take notice,” Jocketty said.

Latos tied a major league record by allowing two or fewer runs in 15 consecutive starts in 2010. In 2011, he held right-handed batters to a .204 average and made 20 quality starts, tied for most on the Padres, who like their pitching depth.

“Mat, with all his success, I think grew up in a hurry in the big leagues and is probably going to do very well in Cincinnati,” Padres general manager Josh Byrnes said. “We do have a good group of pitchers. We have a very good group in Double-A coming up behind him. It was a tough trade to make, but we have a huge chunk of talent we have put in the system the last couple of years and ultimately I think that’s our best path to success.”

Alonso, the seventh overall pick in 2008, didn’t have a place to play with Joey Votto a mainstay at first base. The Reds moved him to left field briefly in 2011, but he struggled defensively. The 24-year-old Alonso batted .330 with five homers and 15 RBI in 47 games. Byrnes said he’ll be a leading contender for the starting job.

Volquez was coming off a disappointing season, going 5-7 with a 5.71 ERA. The Reds got him from Texas in the trade for Josh Hamilton in December 2007. Volquez went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 2008, when he and Hamilton made the All-Star teams. Volquez needed reconstructive elbow surgery in 2009 and never has gotten back into form.

Grandal, the 12th overall pick in 2010, batted .305 with 14 homers and 68 RBI at Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A in 2011, making a quick rise through the farm system. He was slotted behind catcher Devin Mesoraco, a first-round pick in 2007 who made it to the majors in 2011 and played in 18 games.

Jocketty said Reds were willing to trade Alonso and Grandal because they were stuck behind other players at their positions.

The Reds also gave up right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger, who went 2-4 with 11 saves and a 2.03 ERA in 2011 at Double-A and Triple-A. Jocketty said Boxberger was the final piece in finishing the deal.

“It was very tough giving him up,” Jocketty said. “We feel he was really starting to come into his own in the second half of the year. I don’t think we would have been able to make the deal if he wasn’t part of it.”

Latos moves from a pitcher-friendly ballpark to Great American Ball Park, one of the most homer-friendly in the majors. He said he learned during a tough patch early in 2011 he couldn’t let a ballpark’s dimensions affect how he pitched.

“Earlier I was trying to be too fine with my pitches instead of just attacking with my strengths,” Latos said. “I learned to just trust myself and go after hitters regardless who it is or where we are. Cincinnati is said to be hitters’ park. Philly is the same way. That doesn’t mean where you’re at or the park you’re in to change your pitching style.”

CINCINNATI – The Reds got the starter they wanted Saturday, acquiring right hander Matt Latos from the San Diego Padres.

The 24 year old will join right hander Johnny Cueto to give the Reds a young, dynamic 1-2 starting punch.

The Reds will have Latos for four years.  He is not eligible for arbitration until 2013.

Latos was 9-14 with a 3.47 ERA for the Padres last season after going 14-10 with a 2.92 ERA in 2010.

Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Walt Jocketty says the 6 foot 6 inch 224 pound starter is the strength they’ve been looking for, “Mat is a big, strong young pitcher with electric stuff.  We consider him to be a potential number one starter who, contractually, we have under control for four more years. To acquire a pitcher who is ready to fit into the top of a rotation, you have to give up talent.”

The Padres will get Reds players Yonder Alonso, Brad Boxberger, Yasmani Grandal and Edinson Volquez. 

The San Diego Padres acquired right-
handed minor-league pitcher Cory Burns from the Cleveland Indians for
outfielder Aaron Cunningham.

The 25-year-old Cunningham was primarily a fourth outfielder and pinch-hitter
during his two years with the Padres. He hit just .178 with three home runs
and nine RBI in 52 games last season.

Burns, 24, had 35 saves and a 2.11 earned run average in 54 relief appearances
with Double-A Akron last season.

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SAN DIEGO (AP) – The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms on a
one-year contract with outfielder Chris Denorfia worth $1,165,000, and also tendered contracts to 35 other players.

Already under contract are newly acquired closer Huston Street, infielders Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson, and outfielder Mark
Kotsay.

The Padres non-tendered outfielder Jeremy Hermida.

Denorfia hit .277 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 2011, when the Padres finished last in the NL West.

Hermida was designated for assignment on Wednesday. He was
acquired off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on August 31. He hit
.225 with one homer and six RBIs in 20 games with the Padres.

The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with outfielder Chris Denorfia and tendered contracts to 35 other players.
Already under contract are newly acquired closer Huston Street, infielders Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson, and outfielder Mark Kotsay.
The Padres non-tendered outfielder Jeremy Hermida.
Denorfia hit .277 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 2011, when the Padres finished last in the NL West.
Hermida was designated for assignment on Wednesday. He was acquired off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on August 31. He hit .225 with one homer and six RBIs in 20 games with the Padres.

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with outfielder Chris Denorfia worth US$1,165,000 and also tendered contracts to 35 other players.

Already under contract are newly acquired closer Huston Street, infielders Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson, and outfielder Mark Kotsay.

The Padres non-tendered outfielder Jeremy Hermida.

Denorfia hit .277 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 2011, when the Padres finished last in the NL West.

Hermida was designated for assignment on Wednesday. He was acquired off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on August 31. He hit .225 with one homer and six RBIs in 20 games with the Padres.

DALLAS — The Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing a deal with pitcher Aaron Harang and have agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract with utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr.

Harang, a 32-year-old right-hander, was 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA last season, his first with the San Diego Padres. He made $3.5 million, and the Padres paid $500,000 to void a $5 million player option he had exercised.

In a big league career that has included stops in Oakland (2002-03) and Cincinnati (2003-10), Harang is 95-94 with a 4.25 ERA.

Hairston hit .274 with one homer and seven RBIs this year to help the Milwaukee Brewers reach the NL championship series. He gets $2.25 million next year and $3.75 million in 2013.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

DALLAS (AP)—The Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing a deal with pitcher Aaron
Harang(notes) and have agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract with utilityman Jerry
Hairston Jr.(notes)

Harang, a 32-year-old right-hander, was 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA last season,
his first with the San Diego Padres. He made $3.5 million, and the Padres paid
$500,000 to void a $5 million player option he had exercised.

In a big league career that has included stops in Oakland (2002-03) and
Cincinnati (2003-10), Harang is 95-94 with a 4.25 ERA.

Hairston hit .274 with one homer and seven RBIs this year to help the
Milwaukee Brewers reach the NL championship series. He gets $2.25 million next
year and $3.75 million in 2013.

By SportsDirect

Fourteen months after he was fired by the Mets, Omar Minaya is back in baseball. Minaya accepted a job with the San Diego Padres to assist General Manager Josh Byrnes with player acquisitions at all levels, according to a baseball executive with direct knowledge of the agreement.

Minaya, 53, had been courted by several teams to join their front-office staffs, including the Toronto Blue Jays, the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Padres’ job offered the greatest responsibility and potential. Minaya is expected to join the Padres’ front office at Major League Baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas next week.

The hiring will please the cash-strapped Mets, who can deduct his new salary from the roughly $1 million he was due to earn from the Mets in 2012. The Mets fired Minaya with two years remaining on his contract after the 2010 season and replaced him with Sandy Alderson.

Before Byrnes was hired by the Padres last year, he was a finalist along with Alderson to replace Minaya in New York. Byrnes went to San Diego instead and was promoted to general manager when Jed Hoyer left to join Theo Epstein with the Chicago Cubs.

Known for his old-school scouting abilities and affable personality, Minaya took over the Mets in the final days of the 2004 season. After two years of big spending on free agents he had built a team that was within three outs of the World Series. He reinvigorated the team and its fan base by signing Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran and later Carlos Delgado while the team promoted its Latin flavor with the moniker Los Mets.

But the Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. The next season the Mets suffered a terrible September collapse and missed the playoffs on the final day of the season. In 2008, they were eliminated on the final day, as well, then things grew even worse.

The 2009 season was marked by devastating injuries, as was 2010, as the Mets fell into near oblivion. But many of the players still on the Mets and in the organization were brought in under Minaya’s stewardship, including Ike Davis, Johan Santana, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada, Matt Harvey and Jason Bay.

Minaya, who was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Queens, served as the general manager of the Montreal Expos from 2002 to 2004 before the Mets brought him back to head up their baseball department. He was a scout and an assistant general manager for the Texas Rangers and for the Mets under Steve Phillips.

SAN DIEGO (AP) – The San Diego Padres have offered salary arbitration to All-Star closer Heath Bell and right-hander Aaron Harang.

New general manager Josh Byrnes says the move was predictable.
If the players decline, the Padres will receive compensatory draft
picks.

Byrnes says it’s unlikely the players will accept arbitration, but the team will prepare for either scenario.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have offered salary arbitration to All-Star closer Heath Bell and right-hander Aaron Harang.

New general manager Josh Byrnes says the move was predictable. If the players decline, the Padres will receive compensatory draft picks.

Byrnes says it’s unlikely the players will accept arbitration, but the team will prepare for either scenario.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SAN DIEGO (AP)—The San Diego Padres have offered salary arbitration to
All-Star closer Heath Bell(notes) and right-hander Aaron Harang(notes).

New general manager Josh Byrnes says the move was predictable. If the
players decline, the Padres will receive compensatory draft picks.

Byrnes says it’s unlikely the players will accept arbitration, but the team
will prepare for either scenario.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres have agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million contract with outfielder Mark Kotsay.

Kotsay was with the Padres from 2001-03. The 35-year-old, a lifetime .278 hitter, has also played for the Florida Marlins, Oakland A’s, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers.

Kotsay hit .270 with three home runs and 31 RBIs with the Brewers last season.

The Padres announced the deal on Wednesday.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.