Latos must stay healthy enough to deliver for Chicago White Sox

When the Chicago White Sox signed Mat Latos to a one-year, $3 million contract on Feb. 9, it looked like a low-risk, high-return kind of deal.

It still might work out that way for the Sox, but patience appears to be the key.

With the April 4 regular season opener against the Athletics at Oakland nearing, the White Sox still aren't sure what they're going to get out of Latos.

Latos had bargain potential due to his 51-35 record and 3.27 ERA from 2010-13, when he pitched for the Padres and Reds.

"The chance to add a pitcher of Mat's caliber was too good of an opportunity for us to pass up," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said the day of the Latos signing. "He has proven over his career that when healthy, he takes the baseball and logs quality innings."

"When healthy" is the key phrase here.

Latos was not healthy last season, as indicated by his combined 4-10 record and 4.95 ERA with the Marlins, Dodgers and Angels.

Still bothered by 2014 surgery on his left knee, the 28-year-old starter spent three weeks on the disabled list in the first half of last season.

"Extremely frustrating," Latos said. "I think it shows. A lot of things were on my mind throughout the 2014 and 2015 season about it and how the body felt. Just dealing with lingering issues with it, and finally dealing with it during the off-season."

Working with a physical therapist during the off-season back home in Miami, Latos reported to the White Sox' training camp in mid-February saying he "feels great."

But the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder has been eased in slowly, and Latos is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut on Tuesday after being limited to simulated games during the first month of spring training.

If he is not ready to break camp, the Sox would likely turn to Erik Johnson for the No. 4 spot in the starting rotation.

Johnson has had a rocky spring - he's 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in 2 exhibition starts - but the 26-year-old righty was impressive for the White Sox last September, going 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 6 starts.

"From the success that he had last year, and him pulling himself out of the hole that he was in, to do what he did last year deserves an awful lot of credit," Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said of Johnson. "We are very high on him. He's gained a lot of confidence from the success he had last year knowing that there are more things to get better at."