Last week, after the Mets solidified their bullpen with the acqusition of Justin Wilson, I wrote that they should now shift their attention towards adding a starter.

A couple guys I named included Wade Miley, but he’s now off the board, and Gio Gonzalez. The latter has actually been tied to the Mets in the last week or so, as New York has maintained dialogue with the left-hander.

Earlier in the offseason, the Mets also showed interest in Gonzalez. With the overhaul New York has made this winter, bringing in Gonzalez would be icing on the cake.

As I noted in the article last week, the Mets’ starting pitching depth is rather thin beyond their projected five of Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Jason Vargas. Adding someone like Gonzalez would do two things: it would give the Mets a bonafide fifth starter and would allow them to move Vargas to a long relief/spot starter role.

As MetsMerized also noted on Twitter, Gonzalez has pitched well at Citi Field in his career, logging an 11-2 record and a 1.75 ERA in 108 innings pitched with 99 strikeouts. A lot of those starts did come against poor Mets teams, and Michael Mayer of MetsMerized opines that those numbers can be dismissed with a tweet of other starters who have fared well at Citi Field. Regardless, as a fifth starter, New York could still do a lot worse.

It depends on how long Gonzalez is looking for in his next contract, but signing him to a two-year deal is something I think you pull the trigger on. Vargas is a free agent after 2019, as is Wheeler. On a two-year pact, you give yourself a rotation option for 2020 as well.

Gonzalez isn’t perfect by any means, and I would have preferred Miley, but bringing the veteran southpaw on gives the Mets more depth in an area where they are thin, and helps further build off an active offseason.

Regardless if they sign Gonzalez or not, New York should bring on at least one more starter. There are a few options out there that could be of interest to New York as well, including Ervin Santana, Edwin Jackson, Josh Tomlin and Francisco Liriano.