More than a year after the Brewers and White Sox swapped Aaron Civale for Andrew Vaughn, the deal keeps tilting Milwaukee’s way.
The latest reminder came yesterday, when the Athletics designated Civale for assignment. It’s another turn in a rough stretch for the veteran right-hander, and it only sharpens the contrast with what the Brewers got back: a first baseman who has given them exactly the kind of steady production they’ve been missing for years.
Since Vaughn arrived in Milwaukee, he has settled a position that has been in flux ever since Prince Fielder left for the Detroit Tigers back in 2012. The Brewers have had short bursts of production there - Jesús Aguilar before the All-Star Break in 2018, Rowdy Tellez in the second half of 2021 - but Vaughn’s run has been the most complete answer in that stretch.
The 28-year-old, drafted by the White Sox with the 3rd overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, has hit .309/.384/.485 since his Brewers debut, good for a 142 wRC+. He has walked at a 10.4% clip and struck out just 13.2% of the time in Milwaukee, while driving in 70 runs across 119 games. His power has been muted a bit this season after he broke a hamate bone on Opening Day, but he has still hit .311 and reached base in nearly 40% of his plate appearances.
That kind of production also comes with time on Milwaukee’s side. Vaughn won’t reach free agency until after the 2027 campaign, which makes the trade look even stronger for the Brewers.
Civale’s path has gone the other direction. He asked the Brewers to trade him after being moved to the bullpen, a role he had never taken on before, with just four months left before free agency. Milwaukee was making room for Jacob Misiorowski in the rotation and sent Civale to the White Sox, giving him the chance to stay in a starting role.
It didn’t stick. Civale posted a 5.37 ERA in 13 starts for Chicago before being placed on waivers at the end of August.
The Cubs claimed him, and he made five relief appearances in September. One of them came against Milwaukee in the postseason, when he threw 4.1 scoreless innings in Game 1 of the NLDS.
Even with that uneven 2025 season, Civale still landed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Athletics this past offseason. He opened 2026 well enough, carrying a 2.70 ERA through his first eight starts, but things unraveled quickly. By the All-Star Break, his ERA had climbed to 5.42, and Oakland designated him for assignment even though he was still owed roughly $2.5 million.
That contract structure makes a waiver move likely, followed by an outright assignment to Triple-A and, because of his service time, a chance to reject it and become a free agent. His home-and-away splits also suggest there may still be something left if he can get away from the Athletics’ minor league home ballpark.
No matter where Civale lands next, the bigger picture hasn’t changed. Milwaukee turned a half-season of starts from a veteran right-hander into two and a half years of Vaughn, and that’s looking like one of the better moves of the Matt Arnold era.
In Other News...
Brewers Just Got A Costly New Reality On Jacob Misiorowski
Chase Burns new deal in Cincinnati has quietly changed the conversation for Milwaukee, because it gives the Brewers a fresh measuring stick if they want to lock up Jacob Misiorowski. The right-hander has been one of the most electric arms in the game this season, and his emergence has only sharpened the question of how aggressive the Brewers will need to be to keep him in place long term.
Misiorowskis rise has put him in a different class of extension candidate, and the timing matters because the market for young pitchers keeps moving. Milwaukee has not yet gotten into extension talks with him, but the Burns contract makes clear that any serious effort to buy out Misiorowskis future is going to come with a hefty price tag and a lot more urgency than it might have just a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Civale's Exit From Milwaukee Keeps Looking Worse
Aaron Civales path since asking out of Milwaukee last June has only gotten bumpier. The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Athletics after 16 appearances and a 5.82 ERA, another rough stop for a pitcher who once looked like a useful rotation piece and has instead spent the last year bouncing from one roster crunch to the next.
The latest move also brings back an uncomfortable pattern for the Brewers to watch from afar. Civale was DFAd by the White Sox last summer after the trade out of Milwaukee, and this is the third time in a little over a year that he has landed in DFA limbo, a striking turn for a veteran who has already worn six big league uniforms in eight seasons. [Read more 🡒]