Anthony Rizzo was traded with pitcher Zach Cates to the Cubs in exchange for pitcher Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Min Na on Friday.  While we had plenty of fun with the whole #RIZZOMANIA thing, it was clear that after the Padres acquired Yonder Alonso the writing was on the wall.

It wasn’t long ago that the Padres traded all-star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox for what was claimed as a "great haul" by most of the pundits.  Along with Anthony Rizzo, the Padres received Casey Kelly, Reymond Fuentes, and Eric Patterson.  Rizzo was a beast in Tucson, and although some will discredit Rizzo’s success, the numbers he put up were video game like and superior to the rest of the league.  The other three players received in the trade have disappointed, but Kelly and Fuentes still have time to prove they can be major leaguers.

But I digress, this is really about Rizzo… and Cates.  The consensus Friday was that the deal was rotten as evidenced by this post from our friends over at gaslampball.com.  Plenty of people were lashing out on social media, saying the Padres did not get enough for the prized prospect.

For weeks people have been asking what I would like for Rizzo (as if I’m a GM).  My response was always: I would like a SS or a top shelf arm.  Cashner was not the arm I had in mind, but when healthy, he certainly is a top shelf arm.  Ironically both players had more value last year.

Cashner was coming off a solid 2010 and was slated to be part of the Cubs starting rotation, but a shoulder injury put him on the disabled list most of the season and when he returned he performed well in the bullpen.  Will Cashner ever be a starter?  Who knows, but he’s got top shelf stuff and with a pitching coach like Darren Balsley and a park like Petco, the sky is the limit.  In regard to a shortstop, keep an eye out for a story on Beamer Weems next week.  Yes, that is a tease.

Some food for thought – Comments that I have seen via social media, followed by my two cents.

-          Byrnes did his best given the circumstances

Those “circumstances” were Byrnes own doing.  I’m not going to give him credit for getting the short end of a trade because he put himself in position in which he lacked leverage by his own doing.

-          Alonso will profile better than Rizzo in Petco

Will he?  That’s quite the assumption.  As we discussed on the site last month, the Padres have not had many power hitting lefties since Petco opened.  Ryan Klesko (pull hitter) at the tail end of his career and Adrian Gonzalez (not a pull hitter), despite their ages, put up similar numbers.  Case in point, both are good first base prospects and most “experts” have them ranked very closely.

-          The Padres didn’t get enough for Rizzo

Talking to our own Peter Friberg today he pointed out that Byrnes may have had concerns about Rizzo and given the circumstances, it is possible that Rizzo’s value has peaked and it would be hard for Rizzo to gain value while playing at Tucson.

-         Rizzo can't hit major league pitching

Rizzo had two hand injuries at AAA within 14 days of his Padres debut.  I was in Vegas to watch the second injury first hand (rim shot).  It was quietly reported by the local media, however, the Padres forced the issue and had Rizzo debut anyway.  The adrenaline died down after a few days in the bigs and Rizzo struggled.  As if it isn't hard enough to break in at the big league level, try doing it with a (twice) busted hand.  Rizzo is a better hitter than most people witnessed.  I'm not saying he's an elite hitter, but he's much better than what Padres fans watched in 2011.

-          Who is Zach Cates

I know the casual fan may not know who Zach Cates is, but he was the Padres third round pick in the 2010 draft.  You may look at his numbers and think he’s just a throw in, but Cates is a solid prospect, so much so the Padres paid him $765,000, the largest bonus of any third round pick in the 2010 draft.  (h/t wonko)  Although Cates didn’t make our top 30, he should be a top 15-20 prospect in the Cubs system and could haunt Padres fans if he gets back on track.

That is my take.  Please log in; I will enjoy hearing your thoughts on the trade.