On December 23, 2011, the Washington Nationals made a deal with the Oakland Athletics that helped to shape the best six-year run in franchise history. The Nats obtained Gio Gonzalez and minor league pitcher Robert Gilliam for prospects A.J. Cole, Tommy Milone, Derek Norris, and Brad Peacock. Less than a month later, the Nationals locked Gonzalez in to a seven-year extension that bought out his first three years of free agency. Seven years later, let’s see how the deal turned out.
I suppose we can start with the token mention of Robert Gilliam. A 23-year-old right-hander at the time, Gilliam pitched in the Nats organization for three years in the minors.