The Brewers are the “front-runner” to land free agent starter Gio Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). They’re one of a variety of teams that make conceptual sense for the southpaw, who just opted out of his deal with the Yankees.
Gonzalez spent time with the Milwaukee organization late last season after being acquired from the Nationals. He was solid down the stretch but scuffled in the postseason. While the club got what it bargained for, it never reportedly showed much interest in a reunion over the offseason.
Circumstances have changed since the start of the 2019 campaign. The Brewers have received underwhelming work from the rotation. While Jimmy Nelson is still on the mend and there’s still hope for the club’s solid overall talent base to shine through, the club can’t afford to sit back and wait in a division that figures to be tightly contested all season long.
There are certainly other plausible landing spots for Gonzalez, but it seems he’s trending toward a return to Milwaukee. The Mets were connected rather heavily, but MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweeted yesterday that their interest level is “more curious than fervent” and Mike Puma of the New York Post now labels them a “longshot” (via Twitter). Other potential suitors are more hypothetical.
I didn’t realize he scuffled during the postseason. I thought he left with an injury after being unable to complete an inning in his one and only start?
2 outings, 3 innings, 1 K, 2 BB, 2 ER, 28/58 pitches for strikes, etc
Color me shocked
Milwaukee got way better results from their rotation last year than anybody expected. The rotation has regressed significantly this year. They need Gio or somebody else to stabilize or they are going to fall flat this year, which would be a shame to potentially waste the year that Yelich is having already.
well that was quick