Gio Gonzalez traded to Nationals

Not that I love Peacock, or that I think Milone is all that great, but I didn’t think they could get Cole AND those two, plus Norris. Just wow. Honestly, I prefer this return, slightly, to the Latos return, and Latos is easily the better arm (obviously, different trades, as the Padres trade focused on positional assets).

Just wow. I understand why Rizzo made the move, but ouch. They better solidify the top of the lineup to make a push in 2012/2013.

Giving up Cole was a mistake IMO, the Nats would have been much better off with Peacock and Milone in the rotation this year, and maybe Cole is ready next season. You already have your ace, why you would trade your controlled rotation depth behind him makes no sense to me. They are trying to take a shortcut to try and contend, but this is going to really hurt them in the next few years. Gio is being WAY overvalued

I’d probably take the Padres return mainly because it is based around two top hitting prospects rather than two top pitching prospects.

I’ll also add that Latos is not easily the better pitcher. It is pretty close. Both are #2 starters IMO and I might take Gonzalez.

As for the return:
Cole is probably 2 years away from the majors. So much can go wrong between now and then. Although I will say I do like Cole. The kid throws strikes. That will make it so much easier when moving up the ladder.

Peacock needs to refine his command and polish his changeup. I like him but it will be interesting to see how quickly he can make adjustments. I also don’t like that his fastball is fairly straight but his curveball is very good. You can tell why he dominated minor league hitters.

Derek Norris is boom or bust. His defense has improved to where it might be major league average. He needs to hit, though. The power is nice but he has to make good contact first.

Tom Milone got results in the minors but major leaguers can hit pitchability guys a lot better than minor leaguers can.

Overall it is a nice haul for Beane. There is plenty of talent there. However, there isn’t a really top notch prospect in the group. The Padres got two better guys in Grandal and Alonso.
I will say that I didn’t think Gio Gonzalez was a top notch guy when he was coming up. He was certainly a top 50-75 prospect and I liked his stuff but his control issues always worried me to where I never felt quite comfortable penciling him into Oakland’s future rotation for sure.

For the Nationals, they get 3 somewhat cheap years of Gonzalez to go with Strasburg and Zimmerman. Not bad with Harper and Rendon on their way. Peacock and Cole are all potential. You can’t just say the Nats gave up two rotation arms. They haven’t proven themselves in the majors yet. What the Nats got back is a legit #2 major league starter.