Should Houston Astros Bolster Rotation with Disgruntled Brewers Starter?

The injuries continue to pile up for the Houston Astros in the starting rotation.

The season began with Cristian Javier, Luis Garcaia and JP France on the injured list. Since then, Spencer Arrighetti, Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski have joined them.

Elite performances from co-aces Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have kept the unit afloat, as has strong play from Lance McCullers Jr. as he's returned from his own injuries.

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But even still, general manager Dana Brown and the front office will need to add to the current group one way or another to solidify the team's standing as World Series contenders.

League-wide trade activity ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline likely won't pick up until a few weeks down the line, but one starting pitcher just hit the market Thursday.

On Thursday, a situation in the Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation came to a head when the team moved veteran starter Aaron Civale to the bullpen to make room for prospect Jacob Misiorowski.

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Brewers manager Pat Murphy confirmed the initial report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) and added that Civale is "not happy," according to MLB.com beat reporter Adam McCalvy.

Civale, in the midst of his seventh season in the Major Leagues, owns a 4.91 ERA in his five starts this season, his second in Milwaukee.

The 30-year-old Connecticut native fared much better in 2024, posting a 3.53 ERA.

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Civale is predominantly a finesse pitcher, though after he was traded from the Cleveland Guardians to the Tampa Bay Rays during the 2023 season, he struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings while with the Rays.

That was a major anomaly from the rest of his career, but Houston, like Tampa Bay, has shown a penchant for unlocking more from pitchers who come to their organization from elsewhere.

Given Milwaukee's starting depth and the lack of leverage the club has given the request, Civale would likely not come at a very high price tag.

Nor would he fully solve the Astros' problem of not having a clear-cut thrid playoff starter behind Valdez and Brown, but with the injuries piling up, it's worth a phone call to see what it would take to land the player and see what he could do with the opportunity to eat some innings in meaningful reglar season games.

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