The Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics both viewed the Gio Gonzalez trade as a key step toward getting where they want to go. It's just that one team is trying to get there a little sooner.
The Athletics and Nationals have completed a six-player trade that sends All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez from Oakland to Washington.
When Washington Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty looked at his staff at the end of 2011, he felt confident. He examined the competition in the National League East and thought his pitchers were positioned well to compete in a tough division. With who the Nationals were expecting to have, he thought, "We had a very good rotation."
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has kept his eye on Gio Gonzalez for the last decade or so. Now, the left-hander is a member of Rizzo's starting rotation.
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made his requirements in the team's search for a starting pitcher this offseason perfectly clear. He wanted a left-hander, someone who could throw 200-plus innings and who had a proven track record.
All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez said Thursday the Oakland Athletics have agreed to trade him to the Washington Nationals, and the deal is nearly finished.
Sitting in a dugout thick with South Florida humidity Wednesday afternoon, manager Davey Johnson offered perhaps the truest statement about the 2011 Washington Nationals.
As the Nats wrap up the second-most-successful season in their seven-year history in Washington, General Manager Mike Rizzo heads into the offseason with a specific list.
Their numbers the last turn through the rotation read like a laundry list of one of the league's best staffs. Ross Detwiler: 7 1/3 scoreless innings; Tommy Milone six scoreless; Stephen Strasburg, six innings, one run; Brad Peacock, five scoreless.
