"The remaking of the A's continued Thursday with the reported trade of All-Star left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for four highly touted prospects.

The trade, first reported by ESPN, comes less than two weeks after the A's dealt pitcher Trevor Cahill to Arizona.

In exchange for Gonzalez, who went 16-12 with a 3.12 ERA last season, the A's reportedly will receive pitching prospects A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock and Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris.

The trade is not official, as neither team made an announcement, but Gonzalez told the Associated Press that "it's 99 percent done. ... It's pending a physical, and I'm just waiting to hear from my agent."

Right-handers Cole, 19, and Peacock, 23, are considered top prospects. One scout, requesting anonymity, said the A's made the best deal possible with Washington.

For many A's fans, that comes as little solace. They have seen this too many times.

With Gonzalez following another top pitcher out the door -- Cahill was an 18-game winner in 2010 -- it's reminiscent of 2004 when the A's traded Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder in a span of three days. Or the 2007-08 offseason, when they traded pitcher Dan Haren and outfielder Nick Swisher in a span of three weeks."