A’s send Gonzalez to Washington to fix deficit

Remember when we told you about 20 minutes ago that the Boston Red Sox were trying to trade for Oakland A’s pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey? Well…we ummm…see it wasn’t our report, we were just running with someone else’s crap.

Anyway, my point is that you can ignore that talk. There was too much of it anyway. According to Keith Law on Twitter, the A’s have sent Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals in exchange for four prospects. He’ll also be asked to help with the federal deficit, and to urge Republicans to extend the Payroll tax cuts.

“Gio to Nats for Cole, Norris, Peacock, and Milone. Love this for Oakland,” he tweets.

So, Gio is now a National (our condolences to him and his family) and A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock, Derek Norris and Tommy Milone are headed to Oakland.

Here is a breakdown on the new A’s from Rotoworld.com:

Cole, a 19-year-old right-hander, posted a 108/24 K/BB ratio in 89 innings this past season at the Single-A level. Peacock, a 23-year-old righty, had a 2.39 ERA and 177/47 K/BB ratio in 146 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2011. Norris, a 22-year-old catcher, has an .861 career OPS in the minors, and Milone registered a 155/16 K/BB ratio in 148 1/3 innings this past season at Triple-A.

It looks like Billy Beane has done it again. Maybe it’s time for another movie.