Gio Gonzalez spoke to reporters at Citi Field before tonight’s game between the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, and told reporters that his final decision came between the two teams facing off Saturday at Citi Field as noted by David Lennon of Newsday.
The left-hander said that the reason he picked the Brewers was that he believed they offered him a better opportunity.
Gonzalez, 33, agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with an additional $2 million in incentives on Wednesday with the Brewers. That came only a few days after he exercised his opt-out in his contract with the New York Yankees on April 20, as the team chose not to add him to their 25-man roster on that date.
Many were hoping that the Mets would sign Gonzalez to replace Jason Vargas in the rotation, but that did not come to fruition and the Florida native is now set to start against the Mets Sunday at Citi Field, where he has a career 1.75 ERA.
In 2018, Gonzalez pitched for both the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers in which he went 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.444 WHIP, and 148 strikeouts in 32 starts (171 innings pitched).
