A’s Deal Gonzalez To Washington For Four Prospects

The A’s have traded starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez and minor league pitcher Robert Gilliam to Washington for four of the Nationals’ top prospects. With the deal, the A’s will add three talented pitchers along with a power-hitting catcher to their system.

Left-hander Tom Milone had an ERA of 3.32 and struck out 155 in 148 1/3 innings last year at Triple-A Syracuse. Right-hander Brad Peacock had an ERA of 2.39 and struck out 177 in 146 2/3 innings while splitting the season between Triple-A Syracuse and Double-A Harrisburg. 19-year-old hurler A.J. Cole had an ERA of 4.04 and struck out 108 in 89 innings last year at Single-A Hagerstown. And catcher Derek Norris hit 20 homers in his first season at Double-A Harrisburg.

Milone and Peacock will compete for spots in the A’s starting rotation this season.

Check out all the important coverage of the trade:

Baseball Nation analyzes the developments that led to the trade

John Sickels profiles the prospects in the trade

MLBTradeRumors.com sums up the trade

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser thinks the A’s got a major haul in the deal

MLB.com’s Jane Lee says that three of the new players are better than most of the A’s current prospects