Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal with starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez. Rosenthal had previously tabbed the Brewers as “the front-runner” in the sweepstakes, with Mike Puma of the New York Post adding that the Mets were “a longshot” to sign him. ‘

Per Rosenthal, Gonzalez may have been deterred by the option of pitching with the Mets due to the possibility that he would have needed to pitch in relief. It’s worth noting that there has not been any indication that New York even made him an offer.

Gonzalez, 33, was signed to a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees this past offseason, but exercised his opt-out clause and was released by the organization on Monday after the team chose not to purchase his contract. In three starts with their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the lefty allowed 10 earned runs in 15 innings while striking out 19 and walking six. Excluding a rough eight-run debut, Gonzalez has averaged 14.7 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 to go with a 1.64 ERA.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com had described the Mets’ interest in Gonzalez as “more curious than fervent,” adding that they were “skeptical” despite also “kicking the tires.” The organization’s skepticism likely stems from the 4.57 ERA and 4.3 BB/9 that soured his final year as a Washington National. His 2.13 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in five starts with the Brewers (who initially acquired him at the twilight of August waivers) were more encouraging, however, and his 283 starts since 2010 are the fifth-most in the majors.

Since 2014, his 0.76 HR/9 is the second-lowest among big-league left-handers (behind none other than Clayton Kershaw), and his 15.3 fWAR ranks 19th – beating out the likes of J.A. Happ, Patrick Corbin, and Marcus Stroman.

Though he falls short in most categories relative to the 2015 AL Cy Young winner and still-free agent Dallas Keuchel, there’s no doubt that the Mets could have benefited from Gonzalez’s services at the back of the rotation. Their 5.09 ERA – though on the mend thanks to a pair of encouraging starts from Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler, remains the second-worst figure in the National League, and the struggles from Jason Vargas (9.58 ERA, 7.76 FIP, an average of just over three innings per start among some grossly bottom-tier Statcast rankings) have played a significant role.