The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox made a trade on Friday morning, swapping Aaron Civale and Andrew Vaughn. After calling up prospect Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers moved Civale to the bullpen. He requested a trade, as he had been one of the Crew’s top starters this season. Without hesitating, Milwaukee sent him to the White Sox for a former top prospect in Vaughn. How did both sides fare in this deal?
Civale was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Brewers before last year’s MLB trade deadline. In 19 starts with Milwaukee, he posted a 3.84 ERA and went 7-5. He made only one playoff appearance for the Crew, closing out a Game 1 loss to the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Round. He threw three scoreless innings.
Vaughn has been one of the worst players in baseball this year, sporting a -1.3 fWAR. That is tied for the worst in all of baseball with Angels infielder Luis Rengifo. He plays first base, which is manned in Milwaukee by Rhys Hoskins. They are betting on talent, hoping he can provide a spark to their offense.
The White Sox grab a high-ceiling starter in a lost season
The White Sox are flying under the radar while the Colorado Rockies challenge their single-season loss record. Despite a current win-loss pace of 54-108, they aren’t the butt of jokes like they were last year. They traded Garrett Crochet this offseason, but have still gotten decent starting pitching. They added to that by picking up Civale while dumping a player they were getting nothing from.
The White Sox just need bodies who can pitch to get through this season. That is exactly what Civale is, and he could help them win some games. The MLB trade deadline is still weeks away, and Civale’s contract is expiring at the end of this season. A contender could call Chicago asking for Civale, which they should not shut down. This could be a long road to adding more prospects to their pipeline.
White Sox grade: B+
The Brewers part ways almost immediately
A player asking for a trade is always an awkward situation. To add insult to injury, Thursday was Civale’s birthday. So it is understandable why the Brewers wasted no time sending Civale to what he believed was a better situation. But the return is underwhelming, to say the least. Despite being the third overall pick in 2019, Vaughn has never shown elite MLB offensive talent.
The Brewers still could trade pitchers ahead of the deadline, as many of their starters are still injured. If Brandon Woodruff and Nestor Cortes do come back, that could lead to Freddy Peralta getting shipped out. Every contender needs starters, and the Brewers have an incredible surplus. With prospects from the Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams trade not clicking yet, they may consider trying again in the trade market.
If the Brewers can get something out of Vaughn, this will be a worthy trade. They were going to trade Civale anyway, so helping the 2025 squad is not a bad strategy. But if Vaughn continues his poor form and the deadline ends up as a seller’s market, the Brewers may regret pulling the trigger so quickly.
This is going to be a poor grade for the Brewers now, but some extra credit could get the professor to reconsider.
Brewers grade: C-
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