It was just announced that Anthony Rizzo, the recently displaced (by Yonder Alonso) Padres first baseman, has been acquired by the Cubs for RHP Andrew Cashner, and outfielder Kyung-Min Na. Josh Byrnes, the Padres GM was quoted as saying, “The acquisition of Yonder Alonso provided us the flexibility to make this trade and acquire a quality, young power arm in Andrew Cashner,” and “We are happy to add a pitcher with the pedigree of Cashner and an outfielder with the athleticism of Na,” with reference to the trade. Cashner was 2-7 with a 4.29 ERA over his two years of service with the Cubs. Kyung-Min Na has spent the last two seasons in the Cubs farm system.
It could be speculated that the Rays may have wanted more than the Padres were willing to give for a pitcher like Wade Davis, or Jeff Niemann. This trade marks another young first basemen, that fits the Rays specs, that has been taken off the market. No mentions of a Mark Trumbo or Carlos Pena deal have been made today, nor have we heard anything about the Rays re-signing Casey Kotchman.