OAKLAND, Calif. — Left-hander Gio Gonzalez says the Washington Nationals have agreed to acquire him in a trade with the Oakland Athletics, pending a physical and the deal being finalized.

Gonzalez has been the subject of trade talk all off-season by the A’s, who on Dec. 9, traded fellow top starter Trevor Cahill to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 26-year-old Gonzalez, a first-round draft pick taken 38th overall by the Chicago White Sox in 2004, confirmed the trade to the Associated Press today. He went 16-12 last season — a career high for wins after getting 15 victories in 2010 — with a 3.12 ERA in 32 starts and was selected to his first All-Star Game. He reached 200 innings the past two seasons.

The A’s reportedly will receive three minor leaguers in the swap.

The Detroit Tigers also were believed to be in the mix for Gonzalez. The A’s reportedly asked for prospects Jacob Turner and Drew Smyly, both pitchers, and Nick Castellanos, a third baseman.

ESPN analyst Jim Bowden, a former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Nationals, surmised this week the Tigers would have to part with three prospects: pitchers Jacob Turner and Brenny Paulino and catcher Rob Brantley.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

DETROIT — The Texas Rangers won the bidding war to land Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish, but it cost the club a pretty penny — $51.7 million to be exact.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski confirmed Thursday via text message that Detroit was not among the handful of teams that submitted a blind bid for the right to negotiate with the 25-year-old.

Instead, the Tigers elected to remain on the sidelines and out of a sweepstakes that will require the Rangers to pay the posting fee in one lump sum — a price the Dombrowski apparently found too steep.

Dombrowski alluded to the club’s lack of interest in Darvish at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.

“I don’t want you to think we’re players in Yu Darvish,” Dombrowski said in early December. “I’ve already implied that we’re not after those big types of dollars.”

Dombrowski has suggested on multiple occasions the Tigers will likely avoid a blockbuster acquisition this offseason, saying the club is “not looking to make a big splash.”

Texas now has 30 days to work out a deal with his current team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, or Darvish must go back to Japan to pitch. The Japanese ace is expected to garner a contract that could exceed $100 million-plus.

The Rangers beat out bids made by several clubs, including the Toronto Blue Jays, the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees and earned the rights to negotiate for Darvish.

December 20, 2011 – Eastern League (EL) Erie SeaWolves
(Erie, PA) – The Erie SeaWolves, in conjunction with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, announced their 2012 field staff today. Chris Cron, the 14th manager in SeaWolves history, returns for his second season with the club. Joining Cron will be hitting coach Jerry Martin in his second season with the SeaWolves, pitching coach Ray Burris in his fifth season and athletic trainer Chris McDonald in his seventh season.

Cron, a native of Albuquerque, NM, was originally a second round pick in the 1984 amateur draft by the Atlanta Braves. He played in 1,250 minor league games and appeared in a total of 12 major league games (six with the California Angels in 1991 and six with the White Sox in 1992). His playing career spanned 11 seasons from 1984-1995.

Cron has been a manager in the minor leagues for the last 17 seasons, 13 of which were spent in the Chicago White Sox organization. His most recent assignment in the White Sox organization was with Class-A Great Falls where he spent four seasons. Cron has managed at every level in the minor leagues.

The SeaWolves home opener is Thursday, April 12, 2012 as the SeaWolves host the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles). For a complete 2012 schedule, visit SeaWolves.com.

Chris Cron returns to the Tigers organization in 2012 to serve as the manager at Double-A Erie.

Prior to joining the Tigers organization, he managed for 16 seasons at the minor league level with the Chicago White Sox (1995-99, 2003-10) and Colorado Rockies (2000-02). He guided his club to the postseason in seven of the 16 seasons and his club captured the Pioneer League championship in 2008.

Cron has been tabbed his league’s manager of the year twice during his career, earning the honor in the Carolina League in 1998 and the Pioneer League in 2010.

Chris played professionally for 12 seasons before beginning his managing career, seeing action at the minor league level with the Atlanta Braves (1984-86), California Angels (1987-91), White Sox (1992-93, 1995) and Cleveland Indians (1994). Cron saw action at the major league level with the Angels (1991) and the White Sox (1992).

JERRY MARTIN – HITTING COACH

Jerry Martin remains with Double-A Erie as the hitting coach for 2012, his second season in the Tigers organization.

Prior to joining the Tigers organization, he spent 20 years as a coach at the minor league level with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Martin began his coaching career with Rookie level Martinsville as a coach in 1990, then spent eight seasons as the minor league roving hitting instructor (1991-98), two seasons as a coach with Class-A Piedmont (1999-2000), three seasons as a coach with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2001-03) and six seasons as minor league roving outfield coordinator (2004-09).

Martin spent 11 seasons at the major league level as an outfielder with the Phillies (1974-78), Chicago Cubs (1979-80), San Francisco Giants (1981), Kansas City Royals (1982-83) and New York Mets (1984).

RAY BURRIS – PITCHING COACH

The 2012 season will be the fifth for Ray Burris with the SeaWolves and his seventh in the Tigers organization. Burris spent the 2005 season with Class-A Oneonta and 2006 with Class-A West Michigan.

Burris served as a minor league pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1988-89 before joining the club’s Major League staff as a bullpen coach for two seasons (1990-91). Additionally, he worked as a roving instructor, special assistant to the General Manager, advance scout and community development employee for the Brewers.

In 1992, Burris joined the Texas Rangers as an assistant pitching coach before moving to the front office for three years (1993-1995) as the Rangers special assistant for community development and special projects and as assistant to the vice president of community development. Burris’ most recent coaching assignment before joining the Tigers organization was as a roving pitching instructor with the St. Louis Cardinals for two seasons (2000-01).

A veteran of 15 seasons at the major league level, Burris played with the Chicago Cubs (1973-79), New York Yankees (1979), New York Mets (1979-1980), Montreal Expos (1981-83), Oakland Athletics (1984), Milwaukee Brewers (1985, 1987) and St. Louis Cardinals (1986).

CHIRS McDONALD – ATHLETIC TRAINER

Chris McDonald enters his 12th season as an athletic trainer in the Tigers organization and his seventh with the SeaWolves. Before joining the ‘Wolves, McDonald spent three seasons with Class-A Lakeland. The Troy, Michigan native graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2000 with a bachelor’s of science in education after majoring in sport management with an emphasis in athletic training. In 2011, Chris was named Eastern League Trainer of the Year by the Professional Baseball Athletic Training Association.

Chris resides in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic during the off-season while working for the Licey Baseball Club of the Dominican Winter League.

ERIE BASEBALL MANAGERIAL HISTORY

Manager Record Percentage

Roger Freed (1981) 44-30 .595

Joe Rigoli (1982-83) 83-69 .586

Rich Hacker (1984) 43-31 .581

Fred Koenig (1985) 44-34 .564

Joe Rigoli (1986-87) 62-76 .449

Bobby Tolan (1988-89) 71-80 .470

Mal Fichman (1990) 44-33 .571

Barry Moss (1991) 37-41 .474

Fredi Gonzalez (1992) 40-37 .519

Doug Sisson (1993) 36-41 .468

Scott Little (1995) 34-41 .453

Whitey Richardson (1996) 30-46 .395

Marty Brown (1997) 50-26 .657

Tracy Woodson (1998) 26-50 .347

Garry Templeton (1999) 81-61 .570

Don Wakamatsu (2000) 46-96 .324

Luis Pujols (2001) 84-58 .592

Kevin Bradshaw (2002-03) 124-159 .438

Rick Sweet (2004) 80-62 .563

Duffy Dyer (2005-06) 123-160 .434

Matt Walbeck (2007) 81-59 .561

Tom Brookens (2008-09) 139-144 .491

Phil Nevin (2010) 66-76 .465

CHRIS CRON (2011) 67-75 .472

• Discuss this story on the Eastern League message board…

• Digg this story

• Add to Del.icio.us

• Flying Squirrels 2nd Annual Hot Stove Banquet February 1st – Richmond Flying Squirrels

• Chris Cron Returns to Skipper Erie in 2012 – Erie SeaWolves

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Norwich — The Connecticut Tigers and the Detroit Tigers have agreed to a two-year extension to their player development contract, guaranteeing the agreement through the 2014 season, the minor league baseball team announced today.

“We’re excited to sign an extension with the Detroit Tigers, while already in a current contract with Detroit,” said Connecticut Tigers Vice President and General Manager C.J. Knudsen. “We believe that shows the strength of our relationship.”

The current PDC was set to expire at the end of the 2012 season.

“The Tigers are very pleased to enter into this extension agreement with Connecticut,” said Detroit Tigers Director of Minor League Operations Dan Lunetta in a press release. “As we had anticipated when we came here in 2010 with (Tigers Managing Partner Miles Prentice) and his management team, Norwich has proven to be an excellent locale that fits very well within our developmental program.”

The Connecticut Tigers are the Class-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and play in the New York-Penn League. The Tigers came to Norwich in spring of 2010 and saw a 23 percent increase in attendance in 2011 – fourth highest improvement in all of minor league baseball — and will open their third season at Dodd Stadium on June 20 against the Lowell Spinners, affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

“The Detroit Tigers have provided us with quality coaching staffs and players for our fans to enjoy over the past two seasons at Dodd Stadium,” Knudsen said. “We’re thrilled to be a part of the Detroit Tigers family and look forward to continuing to provide affordable family entertainment in Connecticut, while representing and carrying the Tigers name proudly.”

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today announced the club has extended its working agreement with Single A Connecticut for two years, extending the agreement through the 2014 season.

The 2012 season marks the third season the franchise has been based in Connecticut after playing in Oneonta for the first 11 seasons as Detroit’s Short-Season Single A affiliate.