Oakland A's In Middle Of Complete Overhaul

The Oakland A's are rebuilding. They'll explain their reasons to you personally if you go to a game. They might even let you on the field if you buy a season-ticket package. And if you bring a glove and a fake moustache, well, you could be playing first base at some point.

Billy Beane used to fight the good fight, acknowledging that his team was at a constant disadvantage, but still attempting to build the best team he can within his means. But recently, his message became more dire:

"We've been through this [rebuilding] cycle numerous times, and it gets shorter and shorter because the gap between us and everybody else grows," Beane said. "The fact of the matter is, for us to compete, we're going to have to have a new stadium ...

Over at Grantland, though, Jonah Keri isn't convinced:

But far more often (talk about a team's window to contend is) a bullshit excuse. It's a vague, faraway goal that always seems several years out of reach. It's a cover for cheap, greedy ownership, lousy scouting, drafting, and player development, and myopic trades. It's a weak attempt to placate a fan base screwed over by years of management incompetence and indifference.

The whole thing is a step-by-step takedown of the A's and other teams that cry poor. Keri should know about this sort of thing, as he grew up a huge Montreal Expos fan and wrote a book about the Tampa Bay Rays. Small markets and teams overcoming fiscal Goliaths is sort of his niche. The article is definitely worth a read.

John Sickels presents scouting reports on all four of the prospects the Washington Nationals are dispatching to Oakland in the Gio Gonzalez trade.

The graphic’s the thing, so you just gotta hit this link.

Lately, the Gio Gonzalez trade rumors were coming hot and heavy. The Washington Nationals were said to have considerable interest. Then the Boston Red Sox were said to have considerable interest. Then the Red Sox were said to be working on a deal for both Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey. Before anybody could fully wrap their minds around that potential blockbuster, though, Gonzalez has been dealt - and he's been dealt to the Nats.

Susan Slusser confirms that a deal is done, and while there's not yet official word on the return for the A's, Keith Law names A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock, Derek Norris and Tommy Milone. All of them are prospects - good prospects - and it seems like a sensible package.

For the Nationals, they'll get four years of Gonzalez, and Gonzalez is a good pitcher who will join Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann at the top of what's become a strong rotation. It's not exactly a win-now move, since Gonzalez is theirs for a while, but it's a win-sooner move.

For the A's, it's just another trade for prospects, but this looks like a great haul. Cole's a 19-year-old righty starter who was outstanding last year in his first full season. Peacock's a 23-year-old righty starter who sipped a little coffee last season after excelling in double-A and triple-A. Norris is a 22-year-old catcher with power, walks and an arm. And Milone is a 24-year-old lefty starter who posted impossible numbers last year in triple-A. By which I mean 155 strikeouts and 16 walks. You won't be surprised to learn that he's something of a soft-tosser, but those numbers are those numbers.

It's a big trade. Obviously. And the A's are still free to move Bailey somewhere else for more prospects. It's their cycle, and it's a bittersweet cycle, with emphasis on the bitter, and emphasis on the sweet.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit baseball rumors. From Ken Rosenthal:

Sources: #RedSox trying to get G. Gonzalez, Bailey in "monster" deal. #Rangers, #Rays also on Bailey. #Nationals team to beat on Gio. #MLB

When I read the world "monster", it triggers something in my brain that reads the whole tweet in John Malkovich's voice from Rounders, which makes Ken Rosenthal that much more interesting.

A Bailey/Gonzalez package in the same deal? When I think about how many prospects that would take, I'm reminded of the Thomas Lennon quote from "Mind Match":

All ... all of them.

But SB Nation's Marc Normandin isn't so sure, telling us that ...

Bogaerts/Lavarnway are their only off the table guys, as far as I know.

Those are the two pieces they don't want to give up because they think that's the next wave of cost-controlled guys who let them do what they want on free agency.

Sounds about right, but if they're going to compete with the Nats, the idea of untouchable for non-Bryce Harpers probably has to be a little flexible. It would certainly take a wheelbarrow full of young players going over to Oakland, and probably a few rolls of quarters so they could afford sodas once they got there. 

The Washington Nationals could probably use some Chien-Ming Wang and/or Ross Detwiler insurance, as the team has an underrated offense and the quietest almost-over-.500 season you'll ever see from a (sort of) long-beleaguered franchise. They'll have Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann in their rotation; a third top-of-the-rotation starter might even make the Phillies nervous.

So it's no surprise that they're linked to Gio Gonzalez, the young A's lefty who is attracting all sorts of trade-rumor excitement. From Jon Heyman:

word is, trade talk "progressing'' with gio. lhp, 26, popular beyond belief. nats r definitely still in, not sure who else

Popular beyond belief. The kind of pitcher who wins homecoming king, but still treats the guys in the math club with more respect than the rest of the football team. Head of the class, mom says he's a catch, quarterback, never picked last. That's Gio Gonzalez.

It's no surprise, either, what with his team-friendly contract -- he's arbitration-eligible for the first time, and he isn't going to be a free agent until after the 2015 season -- and his superlative, if a little wild, production. And the A's are looking for prospects to develop into All-Stars that they can turn into prospects to develop into All-Stars that they can trade for prospects to develop into All-Stars that they can trade for prospects. It's the circle of life. 

What would the Nats have to offer the A's? According to Buster Olney, high-OBP, low-average catcher Derek Norris is likely part of the discussion. And Jim Bowden, who has been freaky-right with his free-agent predictions thus far, suggests the following:

If Gio Gonzalez is traded to Washington...I expect the deal to look something like: A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock, Destin Hood and Derek Norris

That's a pretty substantial selection of prospects, which gives you an idea of why the A's might be interested. In addition to Norris, Cole is a 19-year-old right-hander with an impressive strikeout rate,  Peacock is another right-hander with great strikeout numbers, and Hood is a 21-year-old outfielder who has already shown solid on-base skills and emerging power.  

The Red Sox are also deep into the talks, according to Heyman, so it isn't a given that the Nationals will walk away with a shiny new pitcher in the burgeoning NL East arms race, a Cold War allusion in which the Mets are Greece. I'm not sure what the Red Sox would have to offer to keep pace with the Nationals, but it would likely be a whole bunch if Bowden's correct. 

It's looking like it's a when-not-if situation when it comes to a Gio Gonzalez trade. The A's were right to take some one-year gambles on players like Josh Willingham and Hideki Matsui, hoping that an offense would coalesce around their pitching staff. It didn't work out, and now it's full prospects ahead.