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The move was reported earlier in the week, but today it’s official — Gio Gonzalez is rejoining the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year deal.
LHP Gio Gonzalez has officially been signed to a 1-year contract. A corresponding roster move will be announced later today. pic.twitter.com/Wu4QxtjMV6
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 27, 2019
A corresponding roster move has yet to be announced, but will likely come later today, along with whatever move is being made with Junior Guerra coming off the bereavement list.
When Gonzalez first pitches for the Brewers remains to be seen. He hasn’t pitched in about two weeks since his last minor league start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and all three probable pitchers for the series against Colorado starting Monday at Miller Park are still listed as TBD.
Zach Davies is lined up to start the series finale tomorrow in New York, but Tom Haudricourt reports that they were told last night that that starter is also now TBD.
As of last night, it was "TBA" which I think was telling us something. https://t.co/SLSmH6VaFU
— Tom (@Haudricourt) April 27, 2019
Whether it’s reading between the lines like Haudricourt suggests or just a contingency plan in case last night’s game was rained out, it looks like we don’t know who’s pitching for the Brewers beyond today, when Brandon Woodruff takes the mound opposite Noah Syndergaard.
It’s worth noting that a 40-man roster move will have to be made to activate Gonzalez. That could mean bad news for Jake Petricka, who by now is past the required service time needed to reject a minor league assignment and could end up being designated for assignment as a result — but that’s just speculation at this point.
As reported earlier in the week, Gonzalez will earn $2 million in base salary and up to $2 million more in incentives — much cheaper than the minor league deal he originally signed with the Yankees that included a $3 million base and incentives that could have boosted his salary up to as much as $12 million.
By waiting a month into the season, David Stearns was able to bring Gonzalez back at a significant discount without sacrificing much (if anything at all) on the field. Even with a league-worst ERA from the starting rotation, the Brewers have performed about as well as expected, coming into Saturday at 14-13 despite a gauntlet of an early-season schedule.