Padres Rumors: Mat Latos Drawing Interest

Let's check in with the San Diego Padres, where trade rumors are few and far between. This time, Ken Rosenthal is saying that although the club isn't actively shopping Mat Latos, he is continuing to draw interest from other teams. Jason Cantania of ESPN suggests that his value should increase once the remaining big starting arms are accounted for, but perhaps the Padres' best chance to see that value will be at the July deadline.

And make sure to check out some fan reaction to the realization that the team could be fielding a zombie middle infield in 2012:

• Padres' Latos: Available or not? - Ken Rosenthal
  "The Padres, though, are not in position to rule out anything. New general manager Josh Byrnes is willing to talk about every player on his roster, sources say. He is not shopping Latos, sources say, but rival clubs are inquiring."
• Latos' trade value - MLB Rumors - ESPN (Insider Required)
  "Not that the Padres will move him at all, but if they did, they would most likely get more value once the remaining top arms on the free agent market -- Yu Darvish, Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt -- have signed. And there's obviously no rush, given that Latos is still years away from becoming too expensive for San Diego, but perhaps we'll hear his name pop up around the trade deadline in July 2012?"

• Chris Denorfia receives one-year deal with our San Diego Padres - Gaslamp Ball
  "As Chris Denorfia agrees to his one-year deal with the club, the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. Assuming that Orlando Hudson and Jason Bartlett are still on the trading block and that one or both may not make it to Petco come April, our big leaguers for the 2012 season are Huston Street and Chris Denorfia and some zombie combination of a middle infield. And that's it..."

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