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Andrew Cashner, the heralded pitching prospect the Padres got in return in the trade sending Anthony Rizzo to the Cubs, reported on December 5^th he will not be ready for Opening Day due to a laceration in his hand. 

The injury, caused by a hunting accident, will sideline the young arm for three months. This comes as extremely disappointing news as Cashner was competing for a job in the Padres starting rotation. 

This humbling news also comes on the heels of star-catcher, Yasmani Grandal, being suspended 50 games for testing positive for a banned substance.

However, what kind of effect will Cashner’s return have on the Padres?

In 2012, Cashner had somewhat of a lackluster debut. Through five starts and some bullpen work, he had a 4.27 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and three wins.

In my opinion, Cashner should return to the bullpen when he’s healthy and strive to earn a spot in the rotation. His 52/19 K/BB ratio, combined with his above-average fastball (averaging over 100 mph), he will be a great middle reliever to set up Huston Street.

As we’ve seen with recent World Series champion teams, a strong unhittable bullpen can work wonders and should not be overlooked. The addition of Cashner to the pen to fill voids after Heath Bell and Ernesto Frieri have left the team, could push the Padres bullpen to become one of MLB’s best.

Like Neftali Feliz and Aroldis Chapman, fireball throwers are often a better fit in the bullpen than as starters—though their desires conflict.

All we can do now is wish Cashner a speedy and full recovery and see where manager Bud Black places him upon his return. 

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For the first few months of the Cubs new administration, it has been relatively quiet on the forefront despite being in the running for several free agents throughout the offseason. However, yesterday Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Zach Cates, a 23-year-old pitcher from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Nin Ma according to MLB.com writer, Carrie Muskrat.

Although this trade is not in the same league as signing Prince Fielder, nor does this mean that Rizzo will be the projected starting first baseman for the Cubs this season, but Rizzo is undoubtedly a promising prospect that will be a serious component in the Cubs future. It seemed evident Rizzo would be on his way out of Chicago after the Padres traded for Yondo Alonso. With this move, Epstein and Co. were able to jump and grab a premier prospect. 

Rizzo was called up to play for the MLB squad in San Diego last season, but flopped by only hitting .143 in only 35 games. In response to this, Jed Hoyer claimed on an interview with MLB.com that, “It was too early and a mistake on my part, and I don’t think I did Anthony any favors there.”Hoyer of course, was the one who decided to call Rizzo up last season, as he serves as the general manager for the Padres. Despite his lousy start, Hoyer believes that Rizzo is the future of the Cubs.

When asked about thoughts on Rizzo and his future with his new organization, Hoyer said that, “The way we see it is Bryan had a terrific year last year in Triple-A and has been terrific this year in Venezuela. We see him as our first baseman. It’s likely Anthony will start the year in Triple-A.” The Cubs have seemingly found their first baseman for the upcoming years, which is a very spectacular start to the re-building of the Cubs farm system, which has been beyond depleted for quite a while.

Alongside Rizzo, the Cubs also acquired a 23-year-old, Zach Cates, who went 4-10 with a 4.73 ERA in his first ever professional season within an organization. While he may not be the premier pitcher for the system, he seems to have some potential with a lot of time to develop before reaching the MLB level.

In return for these two prospects, the Cubs gave up Andrew Cashner, who was plagued by injuries and thought of by Theo Epstein as a reliever at best for the remainder of his career as well as Kyung-Nin Ma, a solid bat, but only a 20-year-old, who is far from reaching the big leagues. To say Rizzo was well worth it would be a massive understatement.

Disregarding his stint in San Diego, which is not going to do any hitter favors, Rizzo had a phenomenal tenure in Triple-A, hitting .331 with 26 home runs and 101 RBIs. While he will not be the starter this season, Rizzo definitely has a future on the Cubs. Without giving up too much, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer re-acquired a bat they have loved, but gave up for Adrian Gonzalez while serving in Boston last offseason.

Rizzo is a quality bat and with the right training in Triple-A to start the season, Rizzo could prove to be the most underrated acquisition in the Epstein/Hoyer era. While San Diego technically didn’t lose anything, seeing as they have more faith in the abilities of Alonso, the Cubs did gain a very quality bat who could be a solid asset in the middle of Chicago’s lineup for years to come.

Follow DJ Rallo @Str8edgeRallo

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By Friday the Chicago Cubs will have already been downed two starting pitchers; Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner.

Wells has a right forearm strain, while Cashner has a strain in the back of his rotator cuff. After two MRI’s, neither player showed any structural damage. Both will be put on the DL by weeks end and are expected to be sidelined nearly a month.

This is a disastrous opening scene to the 2011 Cubs performance, as starting off strong is very important to the team and fan’s morale. After the first five games, the Cubs gained their first winning record since they rounded up their 2009 campaign.

A blow this strong at the start of the season could derail Chicago’s northsiders enough as to where they will struggle to regain the opportunity to make the playoffs by season’s end.

To replace the injured pitchers, the Cubs will recall Casey Coleman from Triple-A Iowa to take over Randy Well’s position, and likely will promote current left-handed reliever James Russell to the fifth slot in the rotation.

The 23-year-old Coleman has a lifetime ERA of 4.11, while his also young teammate Russell has a 4.76 ERA in his young career, although he has not given up a run during his two innings of work in 2011.

On the bright side for Chicago, this will give the two young gunslingers an opportunity to show off their stuff. A good showing could give Coleman a chance at a consistent relieving job in the majors, possibly outdoing pitchers such as John Grabow or Jeff Samardzija.

It may be a shame for the Cubs to lose both these pitchers while hitters such as Alfonso Soriano are beginning to pull their weight, who has already gone yard three times this young season, but it is also a chance for the fans to view their young talent and future mound-dwellers.

With a few good showings, this could end up being a devastating and disastrous hidden miracle in Wrigley.

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