Today, the Chicago Cubs acquired San Diego Padres first baseman Anthony Rizzo and right-handed pitcher Zach Cates in exchange for one of their own super-prospects, right-handed pitcher Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na.
This move pretty much ends the idea of the Cubs signing Milwaukee Brewers mega-free agent Prince Fielder.
Rizzo hit .331 with 34 doubles, 26 home runs and 101 RBI in 93 games for San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate. The left-handed batter recorded a .404 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage, good for a 1.056 OPS, the second-best mark in the Pacific Coast League.
Despite some time with the parent club, Rizzo tied for fifth in the league in batting average, ranked sixth in RBI, tied for eighth in homers and ranked second in slugging.
He was named the top prospect in San Diego’s farm system by Baseball America entering the 2012 season.
Rizzo was originally selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2007 Draft out of high school. So you know both Theo and Jed are high on him.
He was limited to 21 minor league games in 2008 after being diagnosed with Limited Stage Classical Hodgkins Lymphoma in late April. He returned a season later to lead all Red Sox minor leaguers with a .368 on-base percentage and ranked third in the system with a .297 batting average between Single-A Greenville and Single-A Salem.
Rizzo was acquired by the Padres as part of the five-player deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox on December 6, 2010. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he has batted .296 (425-for-1,436) with 119 doubles, 64 home runs and 281 RBI in 375 career minor league games covering five seasons.
Cates, 22, was selected by San Diego in the third round of the 2010 Draft and made his professional debut last season, going 4-10 with a 4.73 ERA (62 ER/118.0 IP) in 25 starts for Single-A Fort Wayne.
Cashner, 25, is 2-6 with a 4.29 ERA (31 ER/65.0 IP) in 60 major league outings (one start) the last two years with the Cubs. Chicago’s first round pick in the 2008 Draft, Cashner made his big league debut in 2010, making 53 relief appearances, and was limited to only seven outings (one start) in 2011 due to a right shoulder strain.
Na, 20, combined to bat .268 (72-for-269) with 10 doubles, no home runs and 22 RBI in 83 games between four different teams in the club’s minor league system last year.