Brewers Trade Disgruntled Starting Pitcher To White Sox For Former 1st Round Pick

Aaron Civale traded to White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are not pretending like they are a contending team in 2025. Picking up a veteran starter in the middle of the season on an expiring contract is not typical of a team in their position in the middle of June. However, starting pitching will remain in demand over the next six weeks as we head towards the July 31st trade deadline.

The White Sox are likely buying Civale not only to help supplement their starting rotation and play a little better over the next several weeks, but also so they can flip him once again at the Deadline when prices might be a little higher for starting pitching. It's an intriguing buy-low opportunity for Chicago.

For the Brewers, Civale's trade request was an unnecessary distraction and a situation that needed a resolution quickly. Once a player makes such a request public, there's no putting that genie back in the bottle without making the wish come true.

In return, the Milwaukee Brewers get first baseman Andrew Vaughn from the White Sox. Vaughn was the 3rd overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He's played five seasons in the major leagues, all with the White Sox.

Vaughn is having a tough 2025 season, hitting just .189/.218/.314 with just five home runs. For his career, he has a 97 OPS+, so he's been right around a league-average bat and perhaps a change of scenery will help him at the plate.

Vaughn was optioned to Triple-A back in late-May. He hasn't been doing much better while down there, hitting just .211 in 57 ABs. 

It makes for a bit of a logjam at first base in Milwaukee, however. Rhys Hoskins is entrenched at first base, Jake Bauers has been solid in his backup role. There's also Ernesto Martinez and Tyler Black down in the minors. 

The Brewers are also sending some cash to the White Sox to help offset the rest of Aaron Civale's 2025 salary of $8MM.