The Cubs have acquired 1B Anthony Rizzo and minor league pitcher Zach Cates from the Padres in exchange for RHP Andrew Cashner and minor league OF Kyung-Min Na.
Rizzo became available after the Padres acquired 1B Yonder Alonso from the Reds earlier this off-season in a deal that sent pitcher Mat Latos to Cincinnati. Rizzo is 22 years old and mashed the ball in AAA. Last year, he hit .331/.404/.652 with 26 home runs in 413 plate appearances. However, he struggled when he was promoted to the big leagues, hitting just .141/.281/.242 in 153 plate appearances.
In 2008, Rizzo was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. However, there doesn’t appear to be any concerns for his health at this point. He seems to have returned to form over the past few years and many believe that this move sets the stage for Rizzo to become the long-term solution the Cubs seek at first base. Carrie Murskat of MLB.com spoke to GM Jed Hoyer and he indicated that Bryan Lahair will be the Cubs 1B in 2012 with Rizzo starting the season in AAA. Of course, that could change depending on how Rizzo and LaHair perform in Spring Training.
Cates is also just 22-years old, but he has never pitched above Class A. He was a third round pick of the Padres in 2010. During the 2011 season at Class A, Cates threw 118 innings and posted a 4.73 ERA. He had 8.5 k/9 and gave up 4.0 BB/9. This was what one observer from MLBBonusBaby.com thought of Cates when he was drafted:
Zach Cates is a fast-rising right-handed pitcher from Northeast Texas Community College. Cates is originally from Conway High School in Conway, Arkansas, a town about 30 miles north of Little Rock. He came to NTCC as a two-way player, and he was forced into action as the starting catcher as a freshman due to an injury to the starter, meaning he was limited to seven mop-up innings in relief on the mound. However, he moved into a full-time pitching role this spring, and the result has been absolute domination as a starter. Blessed with a natural pro body and a projectable frame, he has seen his stuff mature into a mid-rotation starter’s arsenal, though he still has work to do with his command and control, which are understandably below-average due to his lack of experience with pitching. His fastball is easily his best current pitch, and it’s already plus, sitting 93-95 in most outings, touching 97 a few times late in the spring. His changeup is his best secondary pitch, and it gets above-average grades with good late fade. His curveball is more of a fringe-average pitch with potential to be simply average with time, but with two above-average pitches, scouts aren’t as reliant on him developing that third pitch, though it would be nice. He has upside as a number three starter, which is quite good at the junior college level, and there have been whispers about him becoming a supplemental first round pick, though he fits better in the second or third rounds, where he should be signable.
I’m disappointed that the Cubs lost Andrew Cashner in this deal, but I completely understand it. Cashner had a lot of upside, but so far in his short career, he was having trouble staying healthy. The Cubs insisted on stretching him out to be a starter, but I always felt that he was better equipped for the bullpen. In fact, I could have seen him as the Cubs set-up man or closer sometime in the future. Even so, trading him to get Rizzo was the right thing to do.
Losing Na should not pose a huge problem for the Cubs in the future. He is a terrifically gifted athlete with above-average speed, but never projected to be much of a hitter.
Clearly, the Cubs got the better end of this deal. Of course, JedStein had some inside info on the main player in this trade, Anthony Rizzo. They were both with Boston when Rizzo was originally drafted by the Red Sox, and Hoyer was the GM in San Diego when Rizzo was traded from Boston to the Padres for Adrian Gonzalez.
Although it appears that acquiring Rizzo will put an end to any speculation that the Cubs might be in on Prince Fielder, I’m not so sure. Rizzo is a highly respected prospect, but he has yet to prove himself at the big league level. It seems to me that going all in on Rizzo, regardless of his upside, is a rather substantial risk. Obtaining Rizzo certainly gives the Cubs a bit more leverage when negotiating with Fielder (particularly when it comes to the length of the contract), but I don’t think it completely excludes the possibility that the Cubs could still sign the big first baseman. As with most of these things, time will tell.
