MLB Prospect Watch

More Opinions on Rizzo/Cashner Trade

Yesterday's trade between the the Cubs and Padres is getting mixed reviews.

• Baseball America has their usual full player scouting reports, but doesn't formulate too much of an opinion.  
• Paul Swydan of FanGraphs.com makes the case that the acquisition of Andrew Cashner makes the Padres better in three ways, but the entire argument seems a stretch to me.  One of his reasons, that the addition of Cashner to the Padres bullpen removes the temptation of using pitching prospects Casey Kelly, Joe Wieland, or Robbie Erlin in a relief role to start the year, may be true, but it is a completely secondary effect of the trade that could have been accomplished without Cashner by simply showing restraint.  And it's certainly no reason to trade a potential starting first baseman.  Fellow FanGraphs.com writer Jason Roberts is on the Cubs side of things, saying that "trading a reliever with injury and control problems for a young, slugging first baseman is almost always a good idea."
• John SIckles thinks Zach Cates has some nice potential, which only adds to the lopsidedness of this trade to the Cubs side.
• Keith Law of ESPN.com thinks the Cubs got a "slight edge" in the deal, going as far as saying that Cashner "could be the next Craig Kimbrel."

Perhaps I'm missing something with Cashner.  He does have a enticing power arm, and could end up being a very effective reliever for the Padres, not just this year but also in the future.  But he's never thrown more than 115 innings in a professional season and has battled wildness throughout his career.  He's essentially a two-pitch pitcher, having never been healthy long enough to effectively develop his change-up.  I don't see him having the repertoire or durability to ever be an effective starter long-term.  He could be a dominant reliever, but I don't see that as enough value for a starting first baseman.  Anthony Rizzo may never be an all-star (he reminds me a lot of Adam LaRoche), but he's still an effective piece.  Opinions are split on him and Yonder Alonso, and one clearly had to be traded, but the value in return could have been higher.

Padres, Cubs Swap Rizzo for Casher and Na

The San Diego Padres unclogged their roadblock at first base, trading prospect Anthony Rizzo to the Chicago Cubs for Andrew Casher and Kyung-Min Na, reports ESPNChicago.com and Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Rizzo became expendable after the team acquired Yonder Alonso from the reds in the team's first blockbuster of the off-season.  The acquisition of Rizzo for the Cubs presumably takes them out of the running for Prince Fielder's services.

For the Padres, the fact that they traded Rizzo is not surprising, but the return might be.  Cashner, who no longer qualifies as a prospect or for rookie status, is a power arm that was once one of the more highly touted pitchers in the Cubs organization.  He battled injury last year, however, and has had a history of them throughout his professional career.  He has made more than 11 starts in a season only once, and has never thrown more than 100 1/3 innings in a season.  Corey Brock of MLB.com tweets that the Padres could consider Cashner for a bullpen role, and that may be the best spot for Cashner to have success.

Kyung-Min Na is an athletic 20-year-old center fielder who has yet to play a full season in the minors.  Through 519 minor league plate appearances, he has a .244/.335/.284 line, showing a decent eye at the plate but absolutely no power, and good speed (26 steals) but no idea how to use it (15 caught steals).  His athleticism in center field could be a valuable asset for the Padres in spacious Petco Park, but he's a long way from being able to use it in the majors.

With the likelihood that Na could never make it to the majors, it appears that the Padres were content to trade Rizzo for a potential late inning reliever.  Despite Rizzo's extreme struggles in the majors last year, his value had not dropped to pennies on the dollar, which seems to be what the Padres got in return.

Making Moves - 6/1

There was a lot of noteworthy prospect movement over the long Memorial Day Weekend...

• There's no way you could have missed it, but in case you did, the Nationals announced that the Stephen Strasburg Era will officially begin on June 8th, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  He'll make his last minor league start on June 3rd.  We'll miss talking about him here at MLBPW, and something tells me he won't be back to the minors.
• Somehow, we can't say the same thing about Buster Posey with any confidence.  As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle points out, the Giants have a decision to make once Mark DeRosa comes off the DL, and moving Posey back to the minors is still on the table.  So is having him catch more regularly.  Fellow Chronicle writer Bruce Jenkins explains just how stupid it would be to send Posey back to the minors.
• The Cubs called Andrew Cashner up to the majors and used him in their bullpen right away, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of Inside the Cubs.  Casher needed only one pitch to record his first and only major league out in his debut.
• The Pirates won't be promoting their triumvirate of prospects anytime soon, according to Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Quoting Pirates' GM Neal Huntington, Finder offers an explanation why Brad Lincoln, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata will remain in the minors for the time being, and frankly, all three explanations make sense.  Recent call-up Neil Walker is proving he belongs, however, and appears to be taking over at second base full-time, says Gazette writer Dejan Kovacevic.
• Scott Elbert is back in the minors after an uninspiring performance out of the Dodgers' bullpen over the weekend.
• Tyler Flowers could get a promotion despite his struggles at the plate, thanks to the White Sox desire to avoid A.J. Pierzynski's approaching 10-and-5 rights, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
• The Indians have promoted hard-throwing lefty Nick Hagadone to Double-A, reports Tony of Indians Prospect Insider.

Prospect Hot Sheet

Baseball America has released their weekly prospect hot sheet, and this week's edition includes some names who were ice cold earlier this season.

• J.P. Arencibia
• Tim Beckham
• Andrew Cashner
• Simon Castro
• Hank Conger
• Randall Delgado
• Todd Frazier
• Jeremy Hellickson
• Dan Hudson
• Chris Marrero
• Ethan Martin
• Bryan Morris
• Wil Myers
• Stolmy Pimental
• Ben Revere
• Wilking Rodriguez
• Kyle Russell
• Mike Stanton
• Arodys Vizcaino

On the down side this week were Jaff Decker, Wilson Ramos, Shelby Miller and Josh Vitters.

Making Moves - 5/28

• Arizona Diamondbacks' top prospect Jarrod Parker is back on the mound on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.  Parker had surgery last October and is just beginning to throw.
• Also on the long road back from injury is Jared Mitchell, but the White Sox' prospect is ahead of schedule, says Jeff Buchanan of Future Sox.com.
• Jason Castro should be in Houston at some point this season, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
• Mike Stanton is coming, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, whether the Marlins' outfielders are ready or not.  Joe Frisaro of MLB.com goes over the Marlins' options for getting everyone enough at-bats.
• Orioles' prospect Kieron Pope is back in action after recovering from a broken leg, writes Noah Rosenstein of MLB.com.
• Jack Moore of FanGraphs.com makes the latest case for Buster Posey's promotion to San Francisco.
• The Cubs have put Andrew Cashner in their Triple-A bullpen in order to get him ready for a relief role in the majors later in the season, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times adds his input as well.  The Cubs made a similar move with fellow prospect Jay Jackson earlier this season, and either or both could be at Wrigley this year.
• Basebal America has their weekly transaction report, which includes a few moves that slipped under the radar, including:
• • Lonnie Chisenhall (CLE) to the 7-day DL (shoulder)
  • Zack Wheeler (SF) to the 7-day DL (fingernail...seriously)
  • Zach Braddock (MIL) added to the 40-man roster and could be in line for a call up