The Nationals have signed 27-year old lefty starter/reliever Mike Ballard to a minor league deal. Ballard pitched in 27 games (25 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 10-7 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has now pitched in 155 games (130 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he was 51-43 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Ballard will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball for the Nationals.

The Washington Nationals have acquired 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez from the A’s for 19-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Cole, 22-year old righty swinging catcher Derek Norris, 23-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Peacock and 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Tom Milone. Gonzalez pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the A’s last year and he was 16-12 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He has now pitched in 95 games (89 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 38-32 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Gonzalez has only given up 491 hits while whiffing 511 batters in his first 535 1/3 innings in his major league career so far, showing how nasty he already is. But, he has control issues as he has walked 264 batters so far in his career. Gonzalez really improved as a pitcher last year and he’s going to likely be either the #1 or #2 starter for the Nationals for a very long time.

Gonzalez didn’t come cheap though. Derek Norris came into last season as the Nationals’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 104 games in AA-ball for the Nationals and he was 70 for 334 (.210 avg, .813 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 20 homers, 46 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Norris is blocked by Wilson Ramos in Washington, so the Nationals should be able to get over losing him in this deal. 19-year old righty starter/reliever A.J. Cole came into last year as the Nationals’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 20 games (18 starts) in A-ball for the Nationals last year and he was 4-7 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Brad Peacock came into last year as the Nationals’ #10 prospect according to Baseball America. Peacock pitched in 25 games (23 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Nationals last year and he was 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He also made his debut in the majors last year for the Nationals working in 3 games (2 starts) in which he was 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Tommy Milone came into last season as the Nationals’ #16 prospect according to Baseball America. Milone pitched in 24 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Nationals last year and he was 12-6 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Milone also made his major league debut for the Nationals last year, working in 5 games (all starts) in which he was 1-0 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.

I like the bold move by the Nationals in getting Gonzalez as they are trying to win right now. It’s about time that they have decided to go for it.

UPDATE: (12/23/2011) - The Nationals have also acquired 24-year old righty starter/reliever Robert Gilliam to complete this deal. Gilliam pitched in 28 games (all starts) in A-ball for the A’s last year and he was 12-7 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has now pitched in 60 games (46 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 21-14 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.

The Nationals have signed 36-year old righty swinging 3B/1B/OF Mark DeRosa to a 1-year deal. DeRosa played in 47 games for the San Francisco Giants last year and he was 24 of 86 (.279 avg, .653 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,105 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 911 of 3,344 (.272 avg, .757 OPS) with 502 runs scored, 93 homers, 452 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. DeRosa will give the Nationals a solid bat and a player with good versatility in the field, for the bench in 2012.

The Nationals have claimed 23-year old righty swinging 3B/SS Carlos Rivero off waivers from the Phillies. Rivero played in 136 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Phillies last year and he was 140 of 518 (.270 avg, .766 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 16 homers, 71 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 654 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 632 for 2,451 (.258 avg, .695 OPS) with 285 runs scored, 47 homers, 327 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.

The Nationals have signed 31-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Chad Tracy to a minor league deal. Tracy played in 40 games for Hiroshima in Japan last year and he was 35 for 149 (.235 avg, .628 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 19 RBIs. He last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Cubs & Marlins. Tracy has now played in 773 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 690 of 2,484 (.278 avg, .782 OPS) with 304 runs scored, 79 homers, 333 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Tracy will get a shot to win a bench job next spring for the Nationals.