About a month and a half ago we heard a rumor from one of our scruffy looking sources that GM Jed Hoyer planned to have Mat Latos fake an injury sometime around the All Star Break and be put on the Disabled List. It was thought to be a good way to give him rest and limit his innings while not wasting his roster spot.
I trusted the source but wondered if the Padres' plans had changed with Mat Latos becoming a possible All Star candidate. I switched into wait and see mode last week.
Last night Friarhood tweeted:
Breaking News: Mat Latos to be placed on the DL #Padres
Friarhood has displayed a friendly relationship with Latos, so my guess would be that his information came straight from the horse's mouth or was at least confirmed by him. I really don't know though.
Strange that at virtually the same time as the tweet a Union Tribune article was posted quoting Manager Buddy Black about Latos' condition:
"Mat’s doing great," Black said. "He feels fine; he’s making his sides (throwing sessions), holding his stuff. Mentally, he’s up for the challenge.
It just seems weird that if you are planning on faking a player injury that the Manager would talk about how great the player is feeling just prior to the "injury". When I call in "sick" to work I start sniffling and coughing a few days before hand, why can't the Padres and Latos do the same thing? It's certainly possible that Latos was hurt between the time Black talked to the UT and yesterday night, but it is more likely this is part of the Padres plan to rest Latos..
Aren't there rules against putting a player on the Disabled List when the player isn't really hurt? Wouldn't this be openly mocking those rules? I'm interested to see how this will play out.
Craig Elsten of 619Sports asks the question:
Of course, the man’s not injured so the Padres would be cheating. Why not, if you really wanted to get another player up and make use of the Latos roster spot, option him out? Latos has plenty of options remaining.
There have been no confirmations from any news sources this morning.
[Note by jbox, 07/13/10 8:50 AM PDT ]
Latos does appear to be headed to the DL, but not due to forearm tightness as formerly rumored. Still find it strange that Bud Black didn't mention this "tug" when commenting on Latos' status and now it might be serious enough put him on the DL. The conspiracy continues...
Latos might be placed on disabled list - SignOnSanDiego.com
Although he has pitched 18 scoreless innings since, that "tug" could lead Latos into going on the disabled list this week as part of the Padres’ desire to limit his innings and appearances over the second half of the season.