"First baseman Anthony Rizzo may be the left-handed hitting slugger the Cubs have been trying to develop since Rafael Palmeiro was traded to the Rangers 24 years ago.

The Cubs are counting on it after trading 2008 first-round pick Andrew Cashner and minor league outfielder Kyung-Min Na to the Padres on Friday for Rizzo and minor league right-hander Zach Cates.

In a baseball version of musical chairs, general manager Jed Hoyer acquired Rizzo from the Red Sox for the Padres last year in a multi-player deal with his current boss, Theo Epstein, that sent Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox.

On Friday, Hoyer and Epstein acquired Rizzo from Hoyer's replacement, Padres general manager Josh Byrnes, who also worked under Epstein and alongside Hoyer for the Red Sox.

With the recent additions of Rizzo, pitchers Travis Wood and Chris Volstad and third baseman Ian Stewart, the Cubs figure to have one of the youngest teams in recent memory, especially if they succeed in moving Alfonso Soriano. Rizzo will start out at Triple-A Iowa, but figures to be called up this summer.

"We believe Anthony has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order run producer for the Cubs for a very long time," Hoyer said. "He still has some development left. We feel what he has done at age 20 at Double-A, and age 21 at Triple-A was remarkable."

Rizzo, 22, hit .331 at Triple-A Tucson last season with 26 home runs and 101 RBIs, with a .423 on-base percentage and .652 slugging percentage. He was ranked the No. 3 prospect in the Padres system and made his major league debut in 2011, struggling with a .141 average in 128 at-bats in 49 games."