White Sox trade for Civale, adding veteran presence to young rotation

ARLINGTON -- In an effort to manage the workload of their young starting rotation, the White Sox on Friday acquired veteran right-hander Aaron Civale from the Brewers in exchange for first baseman Andrew Vaughn and cash considerations.

Civale, who turned 30 Thursday, is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA (12 ER/22 IP) and 19 strikeouts in five starts with Milwaukee in 2025 after starting the season on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Before Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field, White Sox manager Will Venable said Civale will start Sunday’s game in Texas.

“He’s a guy that has been a consistent performer in this league for six years, and somebody that will slot right into the rotation -- we’re excited to have him,” Venable said.

TRADE DETAILS
White Sox get: RHP Aaron Civale
Brewers get: 1B Andrew Vaughn, cash

Civale, 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds, has gone 40-37 with a 4.06 ERA (297 ER in 658 1/3 IP) and 596 strikeouts in 122 career starts over seven Major League seasons with Cleveland (2019-23), Tampa Bay (2023-24) and Milwaukee (2024-25).

After his fifth start for Milwaukee this season -- a June 9 loss to the Braves -- Civale was replaced in the Brewers’ rotation by Jacob Misiorowski, whom MLB Pipeline ranked as their No. 4 prospect. Misiorowski started Thursday, and Civale, who has never pitched in relief in 208 professional appearances, requested a trade the same day in hopes of finding a starting job somewhere.

The White Sox granted Civale’s wish the following day. Both Venable and general manager Chris Getz said Friday that Civale will help them mitigate the wear and tear on their less experienced starters, particularly Shane Smith, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin and Sean Burke.

“To be able to perhaps combat some of the mileage that we’re putting on some of these younger arms with a seasoned veteran like Civale, someone that’s pitched in full seasons as a starter at the Major League level ... he’s spoken publicly about him wanting to be in a rotation,” Getz said. “We’re able to provide that.”

Civale pitched a career-high 161 combined innings with the Rays and Brewers last year, posting a 4.36 ERA with 149 strikeouts over 31 starts.

“We need some help, we have a lot of innings to cover here and our young starters have been doing a great job. But they’re all kind of pushing their career highs in innings, and we’re going to have to be mindful of that,” Venable said. “You’re trying to do all those things and, at the same time, win games, which is tough. So Aaron, he checks both of those boxes for us.”

Along with 32-year-old righty Adrian Houser, who allowed three earned runs in five innings Friday, the White Sox staff now has a pair of journeymen with more than 100 MLB starts each to take pressure off the younger arms. Venable said the club is entertaining the idea of a six-man rotation now.

“That could be a potential solution,” Venable said.

In his fifth start this season Friday, Houser allowed six hits and walked four. His ERA of 2.15 (seven earned runs in 29 1/3 innings) remains the lowest of anyone who has started a game for Chicago this season.

Houser signed with the Rangers last December, but he began the season with Triple-A Round Rock before being released on May 15. He signed with the White Sox five days later and had pitched at least six innings in each of his four starts before Friday.

“It was fun to be able to compete against those guys [after] getting to know those guys in Spring Training and the first month of the season,” Houser said. “But I obviously wish I would’ve put a better foot forward this time.”

Civale was acquired by the Brewers from Tampa Bay on July 3, 2024, in exchange for infielder Gregory Barrios. He originally was selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 2016 Draft out of Northeastern University.

Vaughn, 27, slashed .189/.218/.314 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 48 games this season before being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on May 23. He was selected by the White Sox with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 Draft.

“There is future production at the Major League level for Andrew Vaughn, I really believe in that,” Getz said. “However, with how we're trying to put together our roster and balance it lefty and righty, defensive versatility and where Vaughn is in his White Sox career contractually, it did make some sense to look at ways to help our team currently in finding an arm.”