One Month Review: The Gio Gonzalez Trade

Each month, Swingin’ A’s will revisit three of the biggest trades that the A’s made this past offseason. We’ll continue by reexamining the deal that sent All-Star Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals. The A’s received plenty of young talent in this deal. This deal, in my mind, anyway, makes Billy Beane look very, very smart. We’ll see what you think. 

When the A’s traded Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals this past offseason, I seriously thought about jumping ship. This rebuild only to tear down mentality was not sitting to well with me, but I’m glad I’ve decided to stick around this year. The A’s scored big time in the Gonzalez deal, landing four prospects in the trade. Among those talented prospects are pitchers Brad Peacock, Tom Milone, A.J. Cole, and catcher Derek Norris.

Milone has made his presence felt in Oakland’s clubhouse this season. He’s 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA so far for the Athletics and has demonstrated early on that he’s a guy with solid control and command of his pitches. The A’s have Peacock and Cole down in the minor leagues, but Peacock could find himself in the big leagues at some point this year. Cole, though, is still too early in his development to really make a considerable push for a major league call-up.

The power hitting catcher Norris, though, could find his way up to the big leagues in a hurry. The prospect is tearing things up in Triple-A Sacramento; he’s hitting .329/.344/.565 with 3 HR and 16 RBI in 21 games this year. Should the A’s continue their crazed youth-movement at some point this season and decide to trade away “aging” Kurt Suzuki (who’s just 28), Norris’ name could be on Bob Melvin’s daily lineup card in a hurry.

The A’s gave up a lot in Gonzalez, but in my mind, the team made out considerably well in the trade with Washington. The Nationals have enjoyed Gio Gonzalez’s presence in their starting rotation, as the southpaw has gone 2-1 with a 1.82 ERA in five starts. Both sides, then, have done incredibly well. The Nationals finally have the talent to compete in the National League while the A’s have done a nice job restocking on some young talent as they plan for future success.

One month into the season and the A’s have certainly taken advantage of this trade. Milone is a talented young pitcher pitching in the heart of Oakland’s rotation and the team is seeing encouraging signs from catching prospect Norris. So far, this deal has been equally good for both clubs.

What do you think? Who did better in the trade, the A’s or Nationals? 

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