JUPITER, Fla. — A couple dozen teammates and coaches looked on as Miami Marlins right-hander Mat Latos made his spring ''debut.''
Though the outing didn't take place at Tradition Field in front of thousands of fans, the simulation game served its purpose — gearing him up for the season.
Latos, who was originally scheduled to start in Port St. Lucie, Fla., against the New York Mets on Monday, tossed 31 pitches (22 strikes) to a mix of minor-league and major-league players on Field 2 at the Roger Dean Stadium complex. Non-roster invitee Jhonatan Solano caught pitches from Latos.
''It doesn't matter,'' Latos said of the setting. ''It was great. That was more game than I've been in for a while. It definitely felt good. Everything feels good — body feels good, knee feels good, arm. Just a little rust, but nothing that can't be tweaked out and ready for next outing.''
Acquired from the Cincinnati Reds during the Winter Meetings, Latos is coming off an injury-plagued 2014 season. He started just 16 games because of knee and elbow problems but still went 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA.
A stem-cell procedure in mid-October pushed back his offseason schedule by 1½ months. But he hasn't missed a bullpen session since reporting to camp in February. His routine has remained normal.
''It was more of a precaution and seems to help,'' Latos said. ''I feel real good. It just pushed me back on my throwing program just a little bit. ... The offseason you're basically just going through the motions and getting everything stretched out and strengthened. Here, you're putting every effort into it and you're pushing yourself beyond your limits at some point. Day on, day off. Day on, day off. Throwing a bullpen every other day isn't something you do during the season. It takes a little bit of a toll on you. I'm good. They just wanted it as a precaution because of the procedure. Just taking baby steps.''
On Monday, he threw all of his pitches — fastball, changeup, curveball and splitter. The 27-year-old righty also got to work out of the stretch and cover first on a play.
During the first inning against minor leaguers, he allowed a bloop single to right on an 0-2 pitch before inducing a 6-4-3 double play. A five-pitch walk halted the frame at 14 pitches to control his count.
Latos said he ''let loose on a couple pitches and made pitches when I needed to.'' He used the sim game as a way to get a feel for where he stands, even using certain pitches — like his out pitch right away or a righty-righty changeup — in ways he wouldn't normally do.
In the second, Adeiny Hechavarria doubled down the third-base line to lead off. After consecutive strikeouts — one looking and the other swinging — of minor leaguers, Dee Gordon grounded out to second. With his pitch count still low, the Marlins gave Latos another batter, Ichiro Suzuki, who grounded out to first.
''Like I said, the beauty of being able to pitch out here is we can add a couple hitters, and it was good,'' manager Mike Redmond said. ''I thought he looked good, he looked strong and threw a lot of strikes. Good stuff.''
Redmond said he would need to discuss with pitching Chuck Hernandez as to when Latos would make his Grapefruit League debut. Based on what he saw on Monday, ''We'll look for him to get on the mound in a real game soon.''
Right-hander David Phelps, part of the Martin Prado deal with the New York Yankees this winter, started in Latos' place against the Mets. Phelps will likely be the club's long reliever come Opening Day.
''I think it wasn't really a last-minute deal,'' Redmond said of switching Latos out. ''We had been talking about it for a couple days, we just didn't really announce it until the last minute. It was really more about being able to control the situation and get him out here and get an outing under his belt while we have the time to be able to do it.
"He's not missing anything. He got all his pitches in and he's exactly ready for the season to start. Overall, it was outstanding.''
Latos said the biggest thing this early in spring is to feel good after an outing. He hadn't thrown off a mound in a game since Sept. 7, 2014. These appearances help gear him and his teammates up for April.
''It feels great,'' Latos said of his return. ''It's great. There's nothing better than this game. That's the reason why I'm out here. Year by year you put your body through heck and you just hope for the best. We're preparing and trying to get stronger and stronger to progress towards the season.''
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
