According to Keith Law of ESPN, the Oakland Athletics will trade LHP Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for four minor leaguers; right-handers A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, left-hander Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris.
Three of the players the Nats gave up were on their top-ten prospects list.
Gonzalez, 25, will be under team control through the 2015 season and joins what is now a solid, young rotation brimming with talent and upside.
Meanwhile, the A’s continue to sell everything but the kitchen sink.
Original Post 12/21
Here are a couple of hot stove updates from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports…
The Nationals are pushing hard for Gio Gonzalez according to Heyman. The Red Sox, Nationals, Tigers, Blue Jays, Marlins and Yankees also are believed to be in the mix to varying degrees, while several more ave checked in.
The Nationals are believed willing to include multiple top prospects, basically almost anybody short of Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper. That could mean Brad Peacock, Derek Norris, Destin Hood, Eury Perez and A.J. Cole. Peacock and Norris are probably their third- and fourth-best prospects. Hood and Perez are outfielders, Oakland’s biggest need. It’s possible Washington could be enticed to include young shortstop Ian Desmond, although that is uncertain.
Also, Jair Jurrjens has drawn some interest from the Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rockies, Tigers, Rangers and others. However, while Jurrjens is a terrific young starter, he appears to be behind Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez on the pecking order of most teams, possibly because of potential concerns about the knee injury that hampered him at the end of last year.
Baltimore has seemed especially interested in Jurrjens. However, one person connected to the teams said they wouldn’t consider trading young center fielder Adam Jones straight-up for Jurrjens. “Not even close,” the person said. There was some suggestion the Braves might need to include the versatile and available Martin Prado to make that deal work. But that duo may be too much for the Braves to part with. The Braves also have suggested that they will not trade Jurrjens within their division, thereby eliminating the active Marlins as a potential suitor.
If the Nationals do get Gio, their rotation looks like it could be very formidable if everybody stays healthy. I also find it interesting to see that the Braves won’t trade Jurrjens within the division, a stance that isn’t seen as much today as it was 10-15 years ago.
