After I volunteered to put in writing concerning the Aaron Civale-for-Andrew Vaughn swap, I assumed I used to be going to be protecting probably the most fascinating commerce of the month. On the very least, I assumed I’d be placing out probably the most fascinating commerce write-up of the day. It’s not that Civale and Vaughn are big family names, however you don’t usually see notable main leaguers traded for each other in June. Commerce season isn’t alleged to have began but! I appeared again via the FanGraphs archives to seek out items with the “commerce” tag that handled June transactions. I discovered six others:
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1. The Phillies acquired Jay Bruce from the Mariners for Jake Scheiner (2019).
2. The Yankees acquired Edwin Encarnación from the Mariners for Juan Then (2019).
3. The Blue Jays acquired Adam Cimber and Corey Dickerson from the Marlins for Joe Panik and Andrew McInvale (2021).
4. The Mariners acquired Carlos Santana for Wyatt Mills and William Fleming (2022).
5. The Rangers acquired Aroldis Chapman for Cole Ragans and Roni Cabrera (2023).
6. The Giants acquired Rafael Devers for Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks (2025).
Then, after all, there’s one you’re studying proper now. Of these seven June trades we’ve lined, 4 occurred earlier than the final week of the month: the 2 from 2019 and the 2 from the previous 72 hours.
Do I really feel slighted that mine is now not the most important commerce story of the month, the week, and even the day? That via no fault of my very own and no fault of my editors’, my story has been relegated to a secondary place? No, probably not. But when I did, I’d be capable of relate fairly nicely to Civale. Final week, the Brewers knowledgeable the right-hander he’d be transferring to the bullpen. Civale was understandably upset. He’s in his free agent stroll yr, and transferring to an extended reduction position might diminish his incomes potential within the offseason. What’s extra, other than one postseason look final fall, he has by no means labored out of the bullpen in his skilled profession. Above all else, he stays a superbly succesful back-end beginning pitcher. He didn’t price himself a rotation spot along with his poor efficiency; the Brewers merely had 5 superior choices.
The Brewers traded for Civale final summer time after accidents decimated their rotation. Milwaukee didn’t unlock any untapped potential that the Rays, or the Guardians earlier than them, weren’t in a position to uncover, however it acquired precisely what it wanted from him. He averaged five-plus innings per begin with the Brewers final yr from July via the top of the common season, and allowed not more than three earned runs in 12 of his 14 begins. He pitched equally nicely for Milwaukee in 2025, particularly in the event you ignore his first begin of the season, when he was nearly definitely taking part in with an harm. His velocity was down, he gave up three house runs in three innings, and he landed on the IL with a hamstring pressure the very subsequent day. Excluding that outing, he pitched to a 3.48 ERA, 4.61 FIP, and 4.53 xFIP over 18 begins with the Brewers from 2024-25. Nobody would confuse him for an ace, however the main leagues require roughly 150 beginning pitchers at any given time. Civale deserves to be considered one of them – simply perhaps not with the Brewers.
Certainly, the writing has been on the wall for Civale in Milwaukee for the reason that begin of this season. He got here into the yr with a job within the rotation, however it was by no means clear how lengthy that will final. As of spring coaching, the Brewers had 4 starters who, accidents apart, could be forward of Civale on their depth chart: Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, and Jose Quintana. If there have been ever a degree when all 4 of these arms have been wholesome, that would depart Civale preventing with Tobias Myers for the fifth spot within the rotation. Civale is the extra skilled of the 2, however Myers was wonderful in his rookie season and ended up beating out Civale for a begin in final yr’s playoffs. As well as, each of them would in all probability should take care of Prime 100 prospects Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson, who have been within the excessive minors and progressing towards a debut someday later within the season.
Issues haven’t precisely gone in accordance with plan for the Brewers. Along with Civale, Quintana and Myers have hung out on the IL, whereas Woodruff and Cortes are nonetheless there. Quintana is again within the rotation, however Myers struggled upon his return and was despatched all the way down to Triple-A in Could. Nonetheless, Civale ultimately discovered himself squeezed out of the image. Rookie Chad Patrick has been surprisingly efficient, as has mid-April commerce acquisition Quinn Priester. When Misiorowski earned his name to the present final week, somebody needed to go, and Civale was the odd man out.
It might be simple to border what occurred subsequent as some form of dramatic falling out: The Brewers disrespected Civale by asking him to maneuver to the bullpen; then, after Civale responded with equal disrespect when he publicly demanded a commerce, the Brewers took their revenge and despatched him to one of many worst groups in baseball. But, I’m glad to have the reliable drama of the Devers commerce to place this all in perspective. The Brewers didn’t signal Civale to a long-term, face-of-the-franchise-type extension with the promise that he could be a beginning pitcher. They’d each proper to maneuver him to the bullpen when he was now not considered one of their 5 finest beginning choices. Equally, Civale had each proper to be upset. He’s the identical pitcher he was when the Brewers gave up a lottery ticket prospect so as to add him to their rotation final summer time, and he’s the identical pitcher he was after they tendered him an $8 million wage to maintain him of their rotation final winter. He’s a beginning pitcher, and if the Brewers didn’t have a beginning job for him, asking for a commerce was a superbly cheap request. The Brewers obliged, and whereas a commerce to the lowly White Sox may very well be perceived as a punishment, the very fact of the matter is Civale will get to start out in Chicago. Even higher, if he succeeds with the Sox, there’s a powerful probability he’ll be pitching for a contender once more in one other six weeks.
It’s fairly clear what the White Sox are gaining from this association. Reality be instructed, their rotation has been higher than you would possibly assume, because of an All-Star-worthy efficiency by Shane Smith, a strong displaying from Davis Martin, and the latest success of Adrian Houser and Mike Vasil. Nonetheless, Smith is a rookie, Martin has already surpassed his earlier profession excessive in innings, and Houser’s observe report and Vasil’s underlying metrics counsel they’re each due for some critical regression. In the meantime, depth choices like Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, and Bryse Wilson haven’t appeared promising. Even the dwellers of the dingiest basements want innings, and the White Sox will probably be glad to have a veteran like Civale to assist them protect their bullpen and keep away from blowout losses. If he pitches nicely sufficient, they’ll flip him for a prospect forward of the deadline, very similar to they have been certainly hoping to do with Martín Pérez earlier than he injured his elbow. If not, at the very least the White Sox can proceed to run him out each 5 video games to fill the innings they should fill in one other dropping season. He got here as marketed in his debut, tossing 5 innings of two-run ball, placing out 4 and strolling 4 in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers.
From the Brewers’ perspective, they have been in a position to get one thing again for a pitcher they now not had a job for and who subsequently now not wished to be there. That’s a win. Along with Peralta, Quintana, Patrick, Priester, and Misiorowski, the Brewers have DL Corridor and Aaron Ashby within the bullpen, Woodruff and Cortes working their method again from harm, and Henderson and Myers at Triple-A. Giving up Civale continues to be successful to their depth (you possibly can by no means have an excessive amount of pitching), however it helps with flexibility. They didn’t want one other lengthy man within the bullpen, and so they can now use that lively roster spot on an optionable arm as a substitute. As well as, the Brewers obtained some bench depth, which they wanted greater than pitching depth, and a little bit little bit of wage reduction. The distinction between the remaining salaries of Civale and Vaughn for the season is roughly $1.24 million, and Milwaukee reportedly despatched $807,000 to the White Sox as a part of the deal. Which means the group offloaded roughly $430,000 in wage. That amount of cash must be negligible to a serious league group, however then once more, it’s solely been a few years for the reason that Brewers spurned their ace by taking him to arbitration to avoid wasting about $750,000.
As for Vaughn, the previous third-overall choose and prime prospect within the White Sox group is nearly sure to be non-tendered this winter. In different phrases, I don’t assume the Brewers are taking him on as a long-term undertaking. That’s to not say a contemporary begin can’t assist him; at this level, it may very well be precisely what he wants. Nonetheless, I’m skeptical this return is about something greater than including a bench piece and offsetting Civale’s wage – although I’d be very pleased for Vaughn if he proves me fallacious.
Over his first 4 years with the White Sox, Vaughn was roughly a league-average hitter, slashing .253/.310/.415 with 72 house runs in 562 video games. These weren’t simply disappointing numbers from a former prime prospect; they have been nearly unplayable numbers for a fielder who racked up -18 OAA at first base and -23 OAA within the outfield corners. Merely put, such a poor defender at even the positions furthest down the defensive spectrum must be greater than a league-average bat to warrant a spot in a beginning lineup.
Sadly for Vaughn, issues solely acquired worse in 2025. He hit .189/.218/.314 with a 44 wRC+ over his first 48 video games earlier than he was optioned to Triple-A. The excellent news is his struggles have been extra the results of robust luck than the rest. Previous to his demotion, just one certified AL hitter had a decrease BABIP, whereas his .321 xwOBA was nearly equivalent to the .319 mark he posted in every of the final three seasons. The most important trigger for concern was his meager 3.6% stroll charge, however the truth that he’s already walked 10 instances in 15 video games within the minors means that was in all probability only a small-sample-size fluke, too. He has a profession 97 wRC+, and that’s the form of manufacturing I’d count on from him once more when he makes his method again to the majors. The unhealthy information for Vaughn is the Brewers don’t have a roster spot for him. Christian Yelich is nearly solely taking part in DH this season in an try to hold him wholesome, and Milwaukee already has Rhys Hoskins at first base and Jake Bauers seeing time at first and within the nook outfield spots. The Brewers are certainly hoping they don’t must name up Vaughn in any respect. Nonetheless, an skilled hitter with a league-average bat and a faint glimmer of former top-prospect upside is hardly the worst factor to have saved away in case of harm.
After six years within the White Sox group, Vaughn will hope a change of surroundings can do him some good. If he thrives at Triple-A Nashville, he might find yourself contributing to a postseason race. In the meantime, few gamers are extra used to altering surroundings at this level than Civale, who has now been traded 3 times in lower than two years. That is the primary time he hasn’t been traded to a contender, and the primary time he hasn’t been in a company with an important popularity for pitching growth, however he’ll get to proceed beginning ballgames for a group that basically wants him. So, this won’t be the most important commerce of the month, however it’s the commerce that makes probably the most sense for all concerned.