The Phillies are staring at a pitching problem that won’t go away on its own, and the latest possible fix comes from an unexpected place: the Athletics’ decision to move on from Aaron Civale.
Philadelphia’s need is obvious. Aaron Nola has fallen off hard, Andrew Painter’s first shot at the majors went sideways, and the club is looking for anyone who can reliably get through innings. That makes a veteran castoff like Civale at least worth a look.
Civale’s career has been a roller coaster. The 31-year-old has already worn a long list of uniforms - Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, both Chicago teams, and now Sacramento - and his 4.26 ERA in 156 games tells the story of a pitcher who has never settled in for long.
He was steady enough in Cleveland, where he posted a 3.77 ERA over five seasons, and that performance helped turn him into trade bait. In 2023, the Rays sent Kyle Manzardo to Cleveland in a straight-up deal for Civale, but things quickly went off the rails. He finished with a 5.17 ERA in 27 games for Tampa Bay before being shipped to Milwaukee.
Civale found some life with the Brewers, putting up a 3.84 ERA, but the bounce didn’t last. A move to the White Sox brought another rough stretch, and he finished there with a 5.37 ERA. He then flashed again in a short five-game run with the Cubs to close last season, which led the Athletics to hand him a one-year, $6 million deal over the winter.
That gamble didn’t pay off. Civale got knocked around in green and gold, finishing with a 5.42 ERA in 16 appearances. It’s the same story that has followed him around for years: strong in one stop, ineffective in the next.
There’s not a ton of evidence that a clean turnaround is waiting here. His fastball sits around 91, and hitters have done damage against his offspeed stuff. But the Phillies aren’t exactly in a position to be picky.
Nola’s 5.68 ERA is somehow worse than Civale’s, and he has allowed a National League-leading 23 home runs. Alan Rangel is holding down the fifth spot in the rotation, but he’s regularly being yanked before finishing five innings, which has only made the bullpen’s life harder. Rangel is there because Painter’s first major league look was a disaster.
Civale wouldn’t solve all of that. He’s not suddenly turning into a playoff ace, and nobody is pretending otherwise. But for a team that still has 68 regular season games left to navigate, an experienced arm with some past success is a lot better than continuing to patch the rotation with what the Phillies have now.
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