Updated: Rizzo is a Cub...Cashner is not.

Rumor coming across right now is that the Cubs have traded Andrew Cashner to the Padres for 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo.

A new Cub.

Also in the trade, the Cubs are receiving pitcher Zack Cates and the Padres are getting outfielder Kyung-Min Na.

We suspected that the Cubs might be interested in Rizzo a month ago and the Padres really had no spot for their #1 prospect since the Mat Latos trade.

At this point, Cashner was probably going to have to compete with Randy Wells for the 5th starter spot so he might have needed to move on to get a chance to start consistently.

Rizzo was drafted by Theo Epstein and traded to the Padres a few years later in the Adrian Gonzalez deal.

This is a pretty big get for the Cubs.  Rizzo is still looked at as a top prospect even though his time in the big leagues last year didn't go that well.  I would assume that the Cubs will be making every effort to give the starting 1st base job to Rizzo.

The pitcher the Cubs got in the deal, Zack Cates, is 22 years old and just finished if first year in the Padres system.  He was the Padres' 3rd round pick in 2010.  He has a fastball in the low to mid 90's and is 6'3" and 200 lbs.

Na is a 20 year old outfielder who was in his second season in the Cubs minor league system and made his way AA last year.  He hasn't put up much of any great numbers and hasn't hit a single homer since the was signed in 2010.

So it looks as if Bryan LaHair, whom Theo Epstein proclaimed as the Cubs first baseman as recently as Wednesday, may be moved to the bench again.

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UPDATE:

Jed Hoyer said in a conference call today that LaHair will still be the starting first baseman this coming season and that Rizzo will start 2012 in Iowa.

Anthony Rizzo...today's first base rumor

As I continue to get things back up and running here I'll keep up with the latest in Cubs rumors...

Last night the rumor started that the Cubs and Padres were in discussions for a trade involving Matt Garza.

In return for Garza, the Cubs would get what many people say is the Padres #1 prospect, Anthony Rizzo.

Rizzo, in all his glory.

Rizzo is a first baseman who has shown a good deal of power and plate discipline in the minor leagues. He is said to be a good fielder and particularly good at picking balls out of the dirt.

Rizzo is only 22 years old, and spent last season between AAA and the big leagues. The Padres acquired Rizzo in the Adrian Gonzalez trade last off-season.

So if you put 2 and 2 together, you'll realize the Rizzo was drafted by none other than Theo Epstein.

At first glance, you'd have to wonder why the Padres would be willing to give up their top prospect. Well, you have to look no deeper than the trade that the Reds and Padres made late last week.

The Padres traded Mat Latos, their top pitcher, to the Reds for a number of players. At interest to us, though, is one player in particular, Yonder Alonso. Alonso is a first baseman. In his time playing on the Reds last season, he played pretty well. The Reds really had no problem letting Alonso go, though, as he was blocked at first base by Joey Votto.

With Alonso on the Padres now, it blocks Rizzo unless Alonso were to move to the outfield. So basically, because of Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo may be available to the Cubs.

For the Padres, they are now without their best pitcher and Matt Garza would replace Latos nicely.

So how probable is this trade? Well, there are some big questions that would need to be answered. Overall, Matt Garza replacing Mat Latos is a bit of a head scratcher. Latos was still under team control for 4 more years. Garza only 2. That means that the Padres will need to make room for Garza's additional salary. As a a result, the Cubs might have to take Orlando Hudson in the deal as well.

At the same time, the Cubs are probably going to have to give up at least another prospect in the deal. It's hard to say who that might be, but expect one of the Cubs more highly regarded minor leaguers to be involved in the deal if it were to happen.

Once that were to happen, you have to figure that the Cubs would redirect their attention to starting pitching as spring training approaches.