Which Teams Could Match with Brewers on an Aaron Civale Trade?

For the Brewers, it's never as simple as it looks. When they're selling, they're not just selling. When they're buying, they're not just buying. They don't want to win a division title; they want to win six in eight years. Thus, when the team traded Devin Williams, they took back Nestor Cortes, who gives them valuable help in the middle of the starting rotation. They weren't just moving Williams; they wanted to get better both this year and in the future.

Nor, however, can we assume that their acquisition of Cortes is as simple as adding him to the starting staff and keeping the rest of it static. The Crew did tender a contract to Aaron Civasle last month, but they're not fully or irreversibly committed to him yet, because they could always trade him to a pitching-needy team without enough in their budget to make the additions they feel are necessary. Civale figures to make roughly the same amount Cortes and Williams will in 2025—$8 million or so—and becomes a free agent next winter. That doesn't make him a premium trade chip, but for the right prospective buyer, it makes him an attractive option. Pitchers like Civale (recent teammate Frankie Montas is the best comp among pitchers who have signed so far this winter) cost a lot more than $8 million and often command multi-year deals on the modern pitching market. There's real value to be found by dealing Civale, not only because the team has the starter-capable depth to survive the loss of him, but because a trade of him might bring back a player with a chance to contribute in the longer term.

But whom? That all depends on which teams take an interest in Civale, so let's try to identify a few prospective partners.

Cincinnati Reds
Would this one be unconventional? Of course. The two sides landed on a deal in July, because the Reds were sliding out of contention, but they want to be good in 2025. For that very reason, they'd like to have Civale. They've already acquired Brady Singer via trade, and they were in on Garrett Crochet. They're reportedly interested in Nick Pivetta, as a pivot-a, but that would be an expensive way to fill a third or fourth rotation spot. Civale would be a much cheaper one.

The difficulty lies in the fact that both teams are in the same division, and both want to win it, while also building themselves up for the future. Finding the right match could be tough. Spencer Steer is reportedly available in trades, but we can safely assume that it would be for something bigger than a one-year fourth starter. The Reds always have interesting outfielders lying around (so much so that they've already shuttled Joey Wiemer off to Kansas City as part of the Singer deal), but the Brewers don't need young outfielders.

It's not hard to imagine, though, that the Brewers might want to get their hands on a hurler like Graham Ashcraft. The Reds aren't bad at pitcher development, but they do it differently than Milwaukee does. Ashcraft has been maddening for all observers, because his stuff looks filthy, but he has run very hot and very cold during his time in the majors. Worse, he missed the last few months of 2024 with an elbow strain. He seems to have avoided the need for surgery and was expected to have a fairly normal offseason, but he's a high-variance arm.

That's why the Brewers could theoretically land him, despite his ability to be optioned to the minors and his four remaining seasons of team control, Ashcraft is a huge person and a hard thrower, and his upside in short relief could be equally immense. So far, he and the Reds have tried to make things work as a starter, but the Brewers could either make a quick conversion or undertake the long project of widening his pitch mix to get him doing the things at which they have lots of success. There's time for all of it, based on Ashcraft's service-time status, and he could still return significant value even in 2025.

Detroit Tigers
They successfully added one new starter to a rotation that was basically—well, no, literally, according to their manager—Tarik Skubal and then pitching chaos by the end of the year. But that starter is Alex Cobb, whose injury risk is so great he was pondering retirement before realizing how badly the Tigers wanted him. They still have room in their rotation for an innings-eater like Civale, and they have some money to spend—but clearly lack the appetite for risk to make a real splash in free agency.

The Tigers are a perfect fit, really, because they have a bunch of pitchers who are good, but clearly not great, and who are under team control for years but could be squeezed out of the picture before they can reach free agency, due to Detroit's diffuse talent base. Civale could get a conversation started about Keider Montero, but an easier target might be slider-slinging Alex Faedo, an erstwhile starter who found his true calling in medium-length relief in 2024. He's still optionable, and he still has five years of team control left. Swapping Civale out for him would give the Brewers lots of added flexibility and a contributor to the big-league pitching staff.

Washington Nationals
They're flying far below the radar, but the Nationals established the core of a new contender in the second half of 2024, with James Wood, Dylan Crews, and C.J. Abrams in the thick of it. They have a young rotation full of arms with upside, but there are also a lot of pitchers with worrisome injury histories there, and their overall pitching depth is lousy. They need more, but don't want to spend at an especially high level yet. Civale could push one of those young starters to the bullpen, where the help would be much-needed, or they could simply let a younger arm develop a bit longer in Triple A until an injury clears their way.

Washington's system is full of interesting but flawed talent. There's almost no one in their upper levels who doesn't have something to recommend them, but nor are there any apparent Juan Sotos. Perhaps the Brewers could target José Tena, a third baseman who bats left-handed and showed impressive flashes late in 2024. It would probably require a throw-in along with Civale to land Tena, but he would then mesh perfectly with Caleb Durbin in a productive hot-corner platoon.

The Brewers can always hold onto Civale, if no good offer materializes. Shopping at the lower-priced end of the aisle could permit them to fill their remaining needs even within their limited budget. Should they elect to aim higher, though, they will be able to trade Civale and find some value. Either way, look for them to continue balancing present and future as nimbly as any team in baseball.