Aaron Civale Issues Rare Request of Brewers Following Demotion To Bullpen

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Gasper | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 7:12 PM ET

It's been a tumultuous season for Brewers right-hander Aaron Civale. His first start of the year against the Yankees was injury-shortened, he then missed nearly two months with a hamstring strain, before returning and making four solid starts for Milwaukee.

But after his last start went just 4.1 IP against the Braves on Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers made the decision to call up their #2 prospect on Athlon Sports' Top 50 list , right-hander Jacob Misiorowski.

That forced a demotion to the bullpen for the 30 year old Civale, who was unhappy with the decision. As a result, Civale and his agent, Jack Toffey, have issued a rare trade request.

Aaron Civale requests trade from Brewers

Trade requests are common in the NBA and NFL, but not so much in MLB. Most of the times players recognize the reasons why they get traded, but do not make public demands asking to be moved. A June trade request is not often seen and makes Civale's situation very unique.

The Brewers themselves are in a unique spot. After being extremely thin on pitching depth to start the season, Milwaukee now finds themselves with an abundance of starting pitching options. Freddy Peralta, Jose Quintana, Chad Patrick, and Quinn Priester make up the rest of the rotation with prospects Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson in the mix and veterans Brandon Woodruff and Nestor Cortes on the mend as well. Civale finds himself the odd man out and pushed to the bullpen.

"The situation is a tough one. I feel still in a position to contribute to this game and I still feel like I have a lot left to give as a starting pitcher." Civale said.

Mid-June is not quite the height of trading season, but it's getting closer and closer. Starting pitching is always in demand around the July 31st trade deadline. There should be no shortage of teams that could use Civale's services.

Civale has exclusively been a starting pitcher since his junior year of college and he would prefer to remain a starter.

"We're exploring opportunities for me to get back into a starting rotation, whether that's here or elsewhere" Civale added.

"We deal with players being unhappy all the time and that's their right to do and Aaron's got a great history and he's performed well for this organization so he's got a right to feel the way he wants to feel" said manager Pat Murphy.

The Brewers acquired Civale from the Tampa Bay Rays last July in exchange for minor league shortstop Gregory Barrios. Since joining the Brewers, Civale has a 3.84 ERA in 19 starts. This season, in five starts, Civale has a 4.91 ERA in 22 IP. He's due to be a free agent at the end of this season

"For the time being, doing everything I can to make sure I'm available for what this team needs and after that, it'll go in one direction or another" Civale said.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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