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Staff and wire reports 6:56 PM Saturday, December 17, 2011

Reaction to the Cincinnati Reds giving up several top prospects to obtain San Diego right-hander Mat Latos poured in swiftly after the Saturday trade went down. It was a mixed bag.

Former Reds general manager Jim Bowden, now an ESPN analyst, tweeted:

“(Padres GM) Josh Byrnes just made trade of the year....memories of Herschel Walker deal. The most lopsided trade I’ve witnessed in recent memory as the Padres swindle the Reds in the 5-player trade that lands Mat Latos in Cinci.”

The Reds obtained Latos for first baseman Yonder Alonso, catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitchers Edinson Volquez and Brad Boxberger.

More Bowden: “The Pads get long term solution at 1B in Alonso &C in Grandal...are going to be solid offensive players. Grandal could develop into Varitek. The Reds truly get the potential of an ace in Latos to put ahead of Cueto &the deal helps them significantly short term..Price way too much. Deal would have made more sense if the Reds had included Alonso or Grandal...but NOT both!”

• FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal:

“I love how the trade was barely even official before certain experts started proclaiming that the Reds overpaid.

“Guess what? To land a potential No. 1 starter — one who is 24 years old, a year away from arbitration and four years away from free agency — it takes just slightly more than a few warm bodies. Kudos to Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, who dealt from surplus and saved a few million in 2012.”

• Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown:

“The Reds paid dearly for Latos, who has the tools to be an ace, as evidenced by his 14 wins and 2.92 ERA for the Padres in 2010. A slight regression in 2011 — a 9-14 record, downturns in WHIP, strikeouts and walks — along with a reputation for occasional immature outbursts, appeared not to bother Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who sought more pitching for the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.”

• ESPN’s Buster Olney:

“First instinct on Latos deal: No way SD trades him if they thought he was really good. Acute fly ball pitcher, high emotions headed to CIN.

“First rival evaluator I spoke with LOVES the trade for the Padres. Same evaluator thinks Latos’s fastball command is the big question for him, along with the question of how he grows mentally as a pitcher.”

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