Left-hander’s new deal includes five years and two team options The Nationals signed pitcher Gio Gonzalez to a five-year contract extension with two team options that could keep the left-hander in Washington through the 2018 season.
Gonzalez, 26, was acquired in a trade with the Oakland Athletics on Dec. 22. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and set for a raise from his 2011 salary of $420,000. The deal covers Gonzalez’s four arbitration-eligible seasons plus what would have been his first season of unrestricted free agency. Then the Nats will have their two team options. All told, the contract could be worth as much as $65 million, according to ESPNDeportes. Gonzalez will make $42 million through 2016 and also earned a $500,000 signing bonus.
“Gio’s ample talents are well-known and chronicled. Today’s extension was about comfort for both parties,” Nats general manager Mike Rizzo said in a written statement. “From our end, the two option years and team control were imperative to the extended commitment.”
Gonzalez was an American League All-Star with Oakland last season. He finished with a 16-12 record and a 3.12 ERA. He struck out 197 batters, ranking 17th in the majors, but also walked more than any other starting pitcher (91). Rizzo traded four of his top prospects — catcher Derek Norris and pitchers A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock and Tom Milone — for Gonzalez. All but Milone were ranked among Washington’s top 10 prospects by Baseball America. Peacock and Milone were expected to contribute to the big league pitching staff at some point in 2012.
The Nats now have their top three starting pitchers, including Stephen Strasburg, 23, and Jordan Zimmermann, 25, under contract together through 2015. Strasburg is also under team control for the 2016 season.
Gonzalez was one of only six starting pitchers to record back-to-back 15-win seasons and work in excess of 200 innings in 2010 and 2011. The others were CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Justin Verlander and C.J. Wilson.
“Now both Gio and our fans can shift their focus and excitement to his debut [in Washington] knowing that their relationship won’t be ending in the short term,” Rizzo said.
