The A's have traded left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals, according to a number of media reports.
Neither club has made the deal official, but by a variety of accounts the A's will receive pitchers Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole and Tommy Milone, along with catcher Derek Norris. CBSSports.com reported that the A's included right-handed minor-league pitcher Robert Gilliam in the deal.
San Francisco Chronicle A's beat writer Susan Slusser confirmed the deal at 1:20 p.m. ESPN's Keith Law was first to report the trade.
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Earlier this month Oakland traded starting pitcher Trevor Cahill to Arizona. With the departures of two starters, the A's 2012 rotation candidates are Guillermo Moscoso, Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross, Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson.
Peacock and Cole are the Nationals' top pitching prospects, ranked third and fourth overall in their organization by Baseball America (behind only Bryce Harper and 2011 first-round pick Anthony Rendon).
Peacock was drafted by Washington in the 41st round of the 2006 draft. Baseball America rated him the 42nd best prospect during the 2011 season. He represented the Nationals at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game and made his major league debut on September 6, 2011.
Cole, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, was taken 119th overall (the first pick of the fourth round) in the 2010 draft out of Oviedo High School in Florida. As a senior, Cole posted a 6-0 record, 0.93 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 60.33 innings of work. He posted a 4-7 mark with the Class A Hagerstown Suns this year, recording 109 strikeouts n 89 innings.
Oakland Athletics
Milone was drafted by the Nationals in the 10th round of the 2008 draft out of USC. He made his big league debut against the Mets on Sept. 3, 2011 and struck out new Giants outfielder Angel Pagan for his first career strikeout. Milone hit a three-run home run on the first pitch of his first Major League at bat, becoming the 27th player in major league history to do so.
Norris was selected with the 130th pick in the 2007 amateur draft. He was named to the 2007 Louisville Slugger All-American team.
Gonzalez went 16-12 with a 3.12 ERA in 2011. This is his first year of arbitration eligibility.