The Brewers have acquired left-hander Gio Gonzalez from the Nationals in exchange for two minor leaguers, the teams announced Friday. The Nationals received infielders KJ Harrison and Gilbert Lara in the swap.
Gonzalez, 32, came off of one of his best seasons with the team in 2018 after posting a 15-9 record in 32 starts with a 2.96 ERA and 3.3 fWAR and earning consideration for the 2017 NL Cy Young Award. This year has been a slightly different story: he’s compiled a 7-11 record in 27 starts and produced a 4.57 ERA, 4.3 BB/9, 7.8 SO/9 and just 1.4 fWAR through 145 2/3 innings so far. Over the last month, he’s been on shaky ground as well, dragging a 7.47 ERA over just 31 1/3 innings as he struggled to make it past the fifth inning in five of seven starts.
Even taking his recent slump into account, the lefty has consistently proven to be an above-average starter for an above-.500 team, and will aim to finish strong as the Brewers make a push for the playoffs next month. He’s still owed $2 million of the $12 million club option that was exercised for 2018 and is scheduled to enter free agency in the fall.
