Cashner and Na traded for Rizzo and Cates

[davearm2]

So I guess this means we aren't going for Fielder.

 

This being said, we have a [expletive] load of extra money so lets throw it at Cespedes and Solar.

That would be even more awesomeness.

[WrigleyField 22]

Holy crap, Lahair is seriously going to be the starting 1B isn't he?

Why wouldn't Rizzo? June at the latest.

 

To steal an extra year of team control out of him, rather than waste one on a lost season.

And spending all year mashing pcl is a year of wasted development. Hold a couple months to ensure hes not a super two, but he might as well be here if he's ready.

 

Not on opening day, which was the entire damn point.

Well if Rizzo plays from June on I don't think anyone is gonna remember 2011 as the year Brian LaHair played 1B

[illiniguy]

I'd love to go get Solar now, I'm probably the only one who is very meh on the Cepedes.

[Irrelevant Dude]

It's not going to be this offseason, but sometime soon Theo and co. will be in great shape to trade for the nearing-free-agency superstar guys that the small-market teams can't afford to keep. Call it phase 2 of the rebuild.

Made possible by not overpaying for Pujols, Fielder, or Wilson.

[jersey cubs fan]

Well if Rizzo plays from June on I don't think anyone is gonna remember 2011 as the year Brian LaHair played 1B

 

It could be a fairly epic couple of months.

[mookie]

I'd love to go get Solar now, I'm probably the only one who is very meh on the Cepedes.

 

No, you aren't. Soler FTW.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Carlos Zambrano will be given every opportunity to prove himself.

Brian LaHair is our 1st baseman.

Can I get a we have no intention of trading for Felix Hernandez?

 

Can't complain about this move.

 

He's also said repeatedly how good of a guy Crane Kenney is.

 

And didn't Ricketts say that Jim Hendry's job is safe? In this regime, a vote of confidence is the kiss of death.

[jersey cubs fan]

So Vogelbach better turn into a fantastic trade bait.

[SouthSideRyan]

Holy crap, Lahair is seriously going to be the starting 1B isn't he?

Why wouldn't Rizzo? June at the latest.

 

He's 22, and this team is terrible. There's no reason to even consider him on opening day. Why rush him? Let him solidify his abilities in Iowa and call him up in September unless he's absolutely destroying everything.

 

September might be a little late. This would already be Rizzo's second option used up this year. I'd hate to only bring him up in September and still don't know if you have to use his final option next spring training.

 

The 2nd option will be used whether he comes up on April 20th or September 20th. Are you in favor of just handing him the job to save an option we'll probably never use?

 

If you hand him the job to start the year, and he does well, then you wouldn't have needed the option in 2013 anyway. If you hand him the job and he sucks, you have to demote him and you use the option anyway. There is no scenario where it makes sense to put him at Opening Day due to options

Edited January 6, 2012 by SouthSideRyan

[CincyCubsFan]

Wow. This is a freaking awesome trade for us. Now if we could only swing Headley, our corners would be set for the foreseeable future.

[Clem Fandango]

This feels weird to say because the Cubs probably won't win more than 70-75 games this season... but I don't think I've ever been more excited about the Cubs than I am right now.

 

We've got three guys now who can be future long-term cornerstones of this club in Castro, Rizzo, and Jackson... and we've still got room to add more with a potential Garza trade. I'm [expletive] giddy

[davell]

This is the actual move that says unequivocally, we're rebuilding. Passing on Prince to do this, makes it official. Jed and Jason must really love Rizzo. Draft him, leave for SD, trade for him, leave for Chicago, trade for him. Let's deal Garza, get Soler, and sign some other IFA now. Cates is intriguing too. They must have liked him a lot to give him close to 800,000 in 2010.

[jersey cubs fan]

The 2nd option will be used whether he comes up on April 20th or September 20th. Are you in favor of just handing him the job to save an option we'll probably never use?

 

No, you get him playing by midseason so that you know what you have by April 2013. If he doesn't play much this year, and burns next year's option, you have to keep him up in 2014 as a 24 year old potentially not knowing if he's really going to make it.

[Exile on Waveland]

Love this trade. Now, I'm neither a scout nor do I follow the minor leagues as closely as some on this board. So, if one wanted to say I was out of my depth and my opinion was next to worthless on this issue, one would not inherently be wrong.

 

That said, without a personal scouting report on either player, I love the logic of this trade. The Cubs just traded a pitcher coming off an injury (with questions about his ability to become a full-fledged MLB starter?) for a similarly ranked, younger first baseman (which is a desperate, desperate, position of need). The Cubs management is also obviously very familiar, and very high, on the first baseman.

[jersey cubs fan]

This is the actual move that says unequivocally, we're rebuilding.

 

I don't think we needed to wait to realize that.

[Guest]

Holy crap, Lahair is seriously going to be the starting 1B isn't he?

Why wouldn't Rizzo? June at the latest.

 

He's 22, and this team is terrible. There's no reason to even consider him on opening day. Why rush him? Let him solidify his abilities in Iowa and call him up in September unless he's absolutely destroying everything.

 

Agreed. He's very young and that's part of the reason he's so highly regarded as a prospect. I'd like to let him have more time at AAA.

[davearm2]

This feels weird to say because the Cubs probably won't win more than 70-75 games this season... but I don't think I've ever been more excited about the Cubs than I am right now.

 

We've got three guys now who can be future long-term cornerstones of this club in Castro, Rizzo, and Jackson... and we've still got room to add more with a potential Garza trade. I'm [expletive] giddy

Seriously.

 

If they follow this up with an incredible Garza trade, and land one of the Cubans, it's going to get really nuts around here.

[UMFan83]

Well if Rizzo plays from June on I don't think anyone is gonna remember 2011 as the year Brian LaHair played 1B

 

Personally, I'll remember it as the year Carlos Pena played 1B

[rawaction]

I used to be a prospect-whore, but I've never heard of Na. Heard of Ha, but not Na.

[Guest]

Rizzo already has 68 days of service time, so if my calendar counting is right, the earliest he could come up and not reach a year of service time would be July. If he's coming up for good before September, he seems to more or less be a lock to be a Super Two under the new CBA.

[CUBZ99]

I like this trade. Cashner has the potential to be a very good pitcher, but you have to give up good players to get good players. Interesting that this is the 2nd - 1st Round Draft pick of the Hendry era to be traded within Theo's first 3 months.

 

In regard to Rizzo, his AAA numbers look fantastic, however his numbers with the Pads leave quite a bit to be desired. His K rate skyrocketed in the majors. Is there something I'm missing in regard to the "let him stay in AAA" argument? Hasn't his clock already started after spending 49 games in the majors last year?

[illiniguy]

Man if the nail this Garza trade, there is gonna be a lot to be excited about. This isn't our parents cubs. That's for sure.

[UMFan83]

Does Rizzo not make it onto most top prospect lists due to the amount of time he spent with the Padres last year? I looked at 2 recently released top 100 lists (Seedling to Stars and fantasy rundown) and he wasn't mentioned.

[Tracer Bullet]

Love this.

[ctcf]

Love it. Theo is on a freaking roll at the moment.