Cubs Acquire Anthony Rizzo
The Cubs have acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo and right-hander Zach Cates from the Padres for right-hander Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na, the teams announced. The move provides the Cubs with a potential long-term first baseman and makes room for another first baseman in San Diego.
“The acquisition of Yonder Alonso provided us the flexibility to make this trade and acquire a quality, young power arm in Andrew Cashner,” Padres GM Josh Byrnes said. “We are happy to add a pitcher with the pedigree of Cashner and an outfielder with the athleticism of Na.”
The Cubs are presumably out of the running for free agent Prince Fielder with the acquisition of Rizzo. Bryan LaHair will open the season as the Cubs' everyday first baseman and Rizzo will play at Triple-A, GM Jed Hoyer said, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
Rizzo, 22, debuted with the Padres last year, posting a .141/.281/.242 line in a 153 plate appearance cameo. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a .331/.404/.652 line and hit 26 homers in 413 plate appearances. Baseball America ranked him 75 among MLB prospects entering the 2011 season and first among Padres prospects after the campaign ended. Even if Rizzo (pictured) sticks in the Major Leagues from this point on, he'll be under team control through 2017.
Cates, a 2010 third rounder, made his professional debut in 2011. The 22-year-old posted a 4.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 118 innings as a starter at Class A.
Cashner, 25, has a 4.29 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 65 innings over the course of two seasons with the Cubs. The 2008 first rounder spent much of the 2011 season on the 60-day disabled list with a strained right rotator cuff, but returned to make six appearances in September. He'll be under team control through 2016. The Padres will use Cashner out of the bullpen, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
Na, 20, has a .244/.335/.284 line in 519 plate appearances over the course of two seasons in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He has played all three outfield positions professionally and spent most of his time in center.
When the Red Sox drafted Rizzo in the sixth round of the 2007 draft, current Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was Boston's GM, Hoyer was his assistant GM and Jason McLeod was his scouting director. Hoyer, McLeod, Byrnes and the Padres acquired Rizzo from Epstein and the Red Sox in last offseason's Adrian Gonzalez deal. It's worth noting that Byrnes worked with Hoyer and Epstein in Boston before becoming Arizona's GM in 2005.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Epstein, Hoyer, Cubs Links: Saturday
The Red Sox officially announced last night that GM Theo Epstein had resigned from his position to take over as the the Cubs president of baseball operations. Both teams will hold press conferences on Tuesday; the Cubs to introduce Epstein, and the Sox to likely announce that Ben Cherington is taking over as GM. The two sides have "reached an agreement regarding a process by which appropriate compensation will be determined" and the issue will be "resolved in the near term."
Meanwhile, the Padres have officially granted the Cubs permission to speak to GM Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod. San Diego has already agreed to a list of players from which they will choose their compensation package. Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes is expected to replace Hoyer after the World Series, and the Cubs will not raid the Padres' front office any further. As news trickles in about the three-way GM carousel, we'll keep track of it all right here, with the latest up top…
- Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe cautions Red Sox fans not to expect a "windfall" in exchange for Epstein. Abraham expects Boston to receive two or three prospects, or one prospect and a complementary Major Leaguer like Jeff Baker.
- Dan Hayes of The North County Times says (on Twitter) we're unlikely the learn the full list of players the Padres can choose from, but a source confirmed that Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner are not on it. That's not surprising, the Padres are expected to receive minor leaguers in exchange for letting Hoyer and McLeod leave.
- In a pair of tweets, WEEI.com's Alex Speier notes that because he is coming in as an outsider, Epstein is likely to value the Cubs' prospects differently than those already in the organization. That could lead to a swift resolution of the Cubs-Red Sox compensation talks.
- ESPN's Buster Olney points out (on Twitter) that Epstein will cost the Cubs about the same as what Alfonso Soriano makes per month. He calls it a "huge per-dollar talent grab" for the north siders.
- With a handful of front-office types and a manager changing teams this offseason despite being under contract, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders whether the Red Sox could seek another team's manager to be their next skipper (Twitter).
Cubs Notes: Cashner, Silva, Szczur
The latest on the Cubs, who confirmed that Randy Wells will be their fourth starter…
- An executive from another team told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Andrew Cashner will be in the Cubs' rotation, which means Carlos Silva won't be a starter for Chicago. The Cubs will eat a considerable amount of Silva's $11.5MM salary to make him go away, according to Sherman (on Twitter).
- However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that trade interest in Silva did not pick up after his last outing (Twitter link). Rosenthal says the Cubs could release Silva if they don't want him in their bullpen.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America explains that prospect Matt Szczur will be eligible for this winter's Rule 5 if he's not on the Cubs' 40-man roster because of a technicality.
Rosenthal On Cubs, Pedro, Padres
Let's check out the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- It's hard to imagine the Cubs as sellers, but if they go that route, lefty Ted Lilly would be a logical piece to move. He's a potential free agent with some no-trade protection but they already have two replacements in their bullpen in Tom Gorzelanny and Andrew Cashner. Meanwhile, Derrek Lee has been adamant about not waiving his no-trade clause. However, hooking on with a contender would enhance his value on the open market.
- The Phillies have kept in touch with Pedro Martinez's agent but GM Ruben Amaro says that he will have to be "really motivated" to pitch this season. Rosenthal says that translates to the righty wanting more money than he was paid last season, roughly $1MM for six weeks of work. Money may not be everything for Martinez though as he will be 39-years-old in October and is said to be content.
- The Padres are confident that Ryan Webb could fill a set-up role if they move one of their strong late inning relievers. However, the team is reluctant to make such a move with Mike Adams' durability in question. That said, the Padres would listen to offers for Heath Bell if a club was willing to give them a hitter they could control for several years. Rosenthal instead suggests that they consider Cleveland's Austin Kearns as he is a cheap, affordable outfielder.
- Boston GM Theo Epstein hates trading for relievers, but chances are the club will be in the market for bullpen help come July.
Odds & Ends: Angels, Willis, Oswalt, Jones
Memorial Day linkage, as Ubaldo Jimenez continues to amaze…
- T.J. Simers of the LA Times offers a profile of refreshingly down-to-earth Angels owner Arte Moreno.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune explains the dilemma the White Sox will face when they have the chance to select Ozney Guillen on draft day.
- Ryan Zimmerman would like to see the Nationals acquire Roy Oswalt, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
- A scout told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he would be interested in Adam Jones if the Orioles considered trading him, despite the young outfielder's 2010 struggles.
- MLBTR is looking for an intern with strong Excel skills and a willingness to contribute for 30 minutes a day. If you are interested in this unpaid data entry position, send a short e-mail to mlbtrintern@gmail.com by the end of the day.
- We will be giving away a DVD of the movie Sugar to our 30,000th Twitter follower (currently 584 followers away). Sugar chronicles a Dominican pitcher trying to make it to the Majors.
- The Cubs announced the promotion of 2008 first-round pick Andrew Cashner. The big righty will work out of the bullpen. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle notes that several years ago, Cashner offered the Astros a hometown discount and they declined.
- The Pirates benched second baseman Akinori Iwamura in favor of Neil Walker, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Iwamura, the team's highest-paid player, was an out-of-character acquisition for GM Neal Huntington. At the time of the trade there had been talk about an extension, but we have to assume that idea has been tabled.
- Dontrelle Willis' agent Matt Sosnick spoke to MLB.com's Jason Beck, saying his client could benefit from a fresh start despite a fair chance with the Tigers.
- Rany Jazayerli says Dayton Moore is not the worst GM in baseball, and it is too early to judge his organizational rebuilding effort.
- With one week left, AOL FanHouse's Frankie Piliere has his third first-round mock draft. ESPN's Keith Law also posted a mock draft, for those who have Insider.
- Heath Bell explained to Bill Center and Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune why he still has hostility toward the Mets.
Mayo’s Latest: Alvarez, Orioles, Cashner
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has some draft tidbits tonight.
- The idea has been floated that the Rays could draft Pedro Alvarez with an eye on moving Evan Longoria to second base down the road. Alvarez’s position really shouldn’t be a concern – Carlos Pena might be gone by the time he’s ready. Mayo’s heard buzz that the Rays have narrowed it down to Alvarez or Buster Posey, despite what Tim Beckham‘s dad said.
- Standard speculation is that the O’s are looking at Brian Matusz and Justin Smoak, but Mayo’s heard there might be a non-Beckham dark horse.
- The White Sox have Smoak, Yonder Alonso, and perhaps Andrew Cashner on their radar at #8.
Draft Roundup
All kinds of good draft info surfacing today. Let’s take a look.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo projects the top 30 picks. College closer Andrew Cashner moves up the rankings to the Rangers at #11, among other changes. Mayo has even heard a rumor that the Marlins could consider Cashner at #6 instead of Kyle Skipworth. Back on May 16th, Baseball America chose the Tigers for Cashner at #21.
- Mayo sees the Rangers at #11 and the Yankees at #28 as possibilities for Boras advisee Gerrit Cole. MiLB.com has compared Cole to Kyle Farnsworth. Baseball America suggested Cole could slip to the Cubs at #19 or the D’Backs at #26.
- Back to the Rangers…beat writer Evan Grant sees them springing for Eric Hosmer or Shooter Hunt.
- Jim Callis notes that raw first-round bats (Aaron Hicks for example) often do not pan out.
- Will the Mets stick to slot this year?