The Nationals pulled the trigger on a trade for a new starter:
Today the Nationals traded for A’s lefty Gio Gonzalez. In return, Washington sent a package of four young players to Oakland: Right-handers A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, left-hander Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris.
These are major prospects. Cole will play 2012 as a 20 year old and blew away batters in his first year in A Ball. Peakcock looks major league ready as he found his control over the last three seasons. Milone may be one of the stingiest pitchers in the minors in terms of walks, and pitched decently in his 26 big league innings. Norris is actually the kind of player the A’s don’t need more of, low batting average with a high OBP. The A’s are full of players who walk a decent amount, but they never seem to get enough hits to move those batters along.
The deal signals to me that Washington is looking to compete sooner rather than later. Gonzalez gives them a pitcher who covers his walks with a high strikeout, low home run rate. Note, too, that he was helped greatly by the park in Oakland. I see him as a third or fourth starter on the Nationals, behind Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg, and possibly behind Chien-Ming Wang. That’s a lot to give up for a fourth starter.
However, that could be a very good four-man rotation. The NL East looks up for grabs as well. While Philadelphia still owns the best rotation in the division, with Ryan Howard out and their stars aging, runs are going to be tougher to come by this year. The Braves haven’t done much to improve themselves after last season’s collapse. The Mets are in disarray, and the Marlins could just as easily wind up with Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes on the DL as each competing for an MVP. Sometimes, when a team has a shot, they have to go for it.
While this trade looks nice for the A’s, most of their trades look nice at the time. In the last few years, they have not borne that much fruit, however, so I’ll hold off on singing praises on this one for a while.