Brewers Pitcher Aaron Civale Requests Trade, Seeks Starting Job

After being moved to the bullpen upon Jacob Misiorowski’s call up to the big leagues, Aaron Civale has requested a trade, according to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.

When the team was in dire need of starters (thanks to injuries) last summer, Civale joined the Brewers in early July via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, in exchange for minor leaguer Gregory Barrios. In 14 starts with the 2024 Brewers, he recorded a 3.53 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP with 65 strikeouts and 25 walks.

As the Brewers’ nominal third starter when camp opened, Civale hoped to continue his success in his contract year. However, he had an early exit on his first start due to a left hamstring strain. He was placed on the 15-day injured list and didn’t return until late May. Since his return, Civale has allowed seven runs in 19 innings, across four starts (3.32 ERA). Along the way, the March free-agent signing of Jose Quintana and the April trade that brought in Quinn Priester crowded Civale into the back end of the rotation.

Although the veteran hasn’t struggled in his starting role, the Brewers decided to call up their best pitching prospect in Misiorowski. With Freddy Peralta, Quintana, Chad Patrick, and the duo of Priester and DL Hall all showing similar kinds of success, Civale seemed like the odd man out.

While Misiorowski is expected to make his debut Thursday night, Civale is going to be in the bullpen for the time being. Whether this can result in Civale taking over after Misiorowski's outing tonight will remain a mystery. Civale has yet to make a relief appearance in his career—that is, in the regular season. He did come in in relief in last year’s Wild Card matchup against the Mets, in Game 3.

According to Civale’s agent, Jack Toffey, Civale wants to continue his career as a starter. But the Brewers already have a huge surplus in starting arms for the rotation, limiting his options. Hence the request to explore his chances elsewhere.

Aside from the names listed above, Brandon Woodruff and Nestor Cortes are expected to make their return to the roster at some point this season. Not only that, the Brewers have pitchers in the minor leagues who are more than ready to make starts for the big-league club. Among those are rookie Logan Henderson, who has a 1.71 ERA after winning three of his four big-league starts; and Tobias Myers, who was one of the best starters in the rotation last season.

As stated earlier, Civale is in his contract year and will be a free agent at the end of the season. He is owed about $5 million for the balance of this season and turns 30 on Thursday. Presumably, the Brewers will try to honor his request, since they have more than enough depth, but they now lack leverage in any discussion and are unlikely to get much for him.

What do you think of Civale’s tenure as a Brewer? What type of return do you think the Brewers can get for Civale? What other pitchers can be on the trade block this deadline? Let us know in the comments.