Gio Gonzalez is only 26-years-old, considered one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game, and yet in 2012, he will be pitching for his fourth organization in six years. That’s amazing to me.

Gonzalez was traded today to the Washington Nationals for four minor league prospects. RHP Robert Gilliam also went to the Nationals. In return, the Oakland A’s will receive RHP A.J. Cole, lhp Tommy Milone, RHP Brad Peacock, C Derek Norris.

Did the Nationals give up a lot here? Sure they did, but give them credit. GM Mike Rizzo realized that this franchise isn’t going to go anywhere without starting pitching and now they have Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, and JorDon Zimmermann locked up for at least the next four years. That’s a very impressive foundation to build off of.

Gonzalez has really come into his own the past two seasons. In the past two seasons, Gonzalez has a 3.17 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and a 6.7 WAR in 402.2 innings. His 6.7 WAR over the past two seasons is higher than Matt Garza‘s, Tim Hudson‘s, and Josh Beckett‘s.

If Gonzalez does have flaws. He can be very wild at times. He has the worst BB/9 of any starting pitcher in baseball over the past two years and last season, he led the American League in walks. If Gonzalez is going to take the next step in his career, then this is something he is going to need to figure out.

He other flaw is that there is a big time difference in his home and road splits. His ERA is over a full run higher on the road than it is at the friendly confines of the Oakland Coliseum over the past two seasons.

In return for Gonzalez, the A’s will receive three of the top-20 prospects in the Nationals’ system prior to 2011 according to Baseball Prospectus. I don’t there is a big time star in this group, but there will be some good players.

Norris, who is a 22-year-old catcher, might have the most potential of this group. He has great power and a good eye at the plate, but lacks the defensive skills to make him an elite catcher. It’s good that he is going to the American League because he potentially could become a first baseman or a DH. For some reason, whenever I think of Norris I think of Mickey Tettleton.

Cole was the Nationals’ fourth round pick of the 2010 June Draft and was ranked as their fourth best prospect prior to the 2011 season. Cole had a 10.9 K/9 and a 4.04 ERA in 89 innings at Single-A Hagerstown in 2011. He’s aways away from making an impact at the Major League level.

Peacock was the Nationals’ 41st round pick in the 2006 June Draft and had a breakout season in 2011. Between Double-A and Triple-A, Peacock went 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a 10.9 K/9 in 146.2 innings. He projects as a back of the rotation starter at the Major League level.

Overall, the A’s got a good return on Gonzalez, but man, are they going to suck in 2012. I’ll venture to say they will be the worst team in baseball in 2012. No offense and now, no pitching.

The Nationals are moving in the right direction and if a couple of things break right, they could challenge for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

By The Baseball Index