In exchange for Gonzalez, a 26-year-old who has won 15-plus games and thrown 200-plus innings in each of the past two seasons, the Nationals are giving up three pitching prospects — right-handers Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole, and lefty Tommy Milone — plus catching prospect Derek Norris. Peacock, Cole and Norris ranked third, fourth and ninth, respectively, in Baseball America’s recent list of the Nationals’ top prospects.

The package was less than the one the Nationals were willing to send to the Royals for Greinke a year ago: That deal would have cost the Nationals at least one from a group that included Zimmermann, closer Drew Storen or second baseman Danny Espinosa, plus additional prospects.

At the same time, Gonzalez, a first-time all-star in 2011, is not without flaws. A power arm who ranked fourth in the American League in 2011 with 8.78 strikeouts per nine innings, he also led the league in walks, with 91, a year after finishing second with 90. It also appears he benefited from pitching in Oakland’s cavernous Coliseum the past four seasons, recording a career ERA of 3.56 at home versus 4.32 on the road.

The trade was the fourth of Gonzalez’s career since the Chicago White Sox drafted him as a sandwich-round pick (38th overall) in 2004.

Still, the Nationals, whose offseason to this point had been marked by high-profile misses and low-profile hits, suddenly have taken a major step in their quest to contend for a playoff spot as soon as 2012. With Strasburg, Zimmermann and Gonzalez atop their rotation, the Nationals have three young, controllable power arms that could form the nucleus of a formidable pitching staff for the next four-plus years. (Gonzalez doesn’t become arbitration-eligible until 2013 and is under team control until 2015.)

“Whatever team is willing to . . . put me in their rotation,” Gonzalez said Wednesday in an appearance on MLB Network Radio, regarding a possible trade, “I’d be more than happy to shine like a star there.”

The Nationals reportedly also are receiving a throw-in, pitching prospect Rob Gilliam, in the trade. A 24-year-old right-hander, Gilliam went 12-7 with a 5.04 ERA for high-Class A Stockton (Calif.) in 2011.

The trade, which cost the Nationals dearly in prospects but relatively little in dollars, is certain to renew speculation that the Nationals will make a run at free agent first baseman Prince Fielder, whose price tag could hit $25 million per year for seven or more years, in an all-out effort to contend next season with Philadelphia, Atlanta and Florida in the suddenly ultra-competitive NL East division.

INFIELDER JEFF BIANCHI CLAIMED BY CUBS

KANSAS CITY, MO (December 9, 2011) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that infielder Jeff Bianchi has been claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs. He was designated for assignment by the Royals on November 30.

Bianchi, 25, spent the entire 2011 season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he batted .259 with two home runs, 48 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 119 games. The native of Lancaster, Pa., holds a .281 average in 490 minor league games since being selected by Kansas City in the second round of the 2005 June Free Agent Draft.

The Kansas City Royals have donated $10,000 to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City in support of a Buck O’Neil centennial celebration.

The museum is attempting to raise $100,000 for the museum and the future Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center, named after the late Negro Leagues star who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on Sunday.

O’Neil, who died in 2006, spent most of his career with the Kansas City Monarchs. He later became the first black coach in the major leagues when the Chicago Cubs hired him in 1962.

He spent his later years helping to establish the museum, traveling the world to spread the story of black baseball.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals have donated $10,000 to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in support of a Buck O’Neil centennial celebration.

The museum is attempting to raise $100,000 for the museum and the future Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center, named after the late Negro Leagues star who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on Sunday.

O’Neil, who died in 2006, spent most of his career with the Kansas City Monarchs. He later became the first black coach in the major leagues when the Chicago Cubs hired him in 1962.

He spent his later years helping to establish the museum, traveling the world to spread the story of black baseball.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.