The Yankees were the surprise winners for Gio Gonzalez’s services after he couldn’t secure a major league deal this off-season, but after four starts in the minors (with the fourth rained out), the injury-laden Yankees hadn’t promoted him, and an opt out has been triggered to give Gonzalez his release.
Although he was shelled in the season opener (eight runs in four innings), the veteran rebounded with a pair of excellent outings, yielding a combined two runs with an 18-to-2 K/BB ratio in 11 innings. He threw 93 pitches in the most recent of those outings (April 14), so Gonzalez is plenty stretched out and could even be ready to join a big league staff in short order.