When the Chicago White Sox first acquired veteran starting pitcher Aaron Civale in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, it seemed like a brilliant move.
Andrew Vaughn had not been producing for Chicago and was demoted to Triple-A. With Vaughn likely set to be non-tendered in the offseason, the White Sox flipped him to Milwaukee for a big league starting pitcher that could eat innings and bring back prospects at the trade deadline.
The thinking from Chris Getz and the White Sox front office was simple. Chicago was going to get more at the deadline for Aaron Civale than they could for Andrew Vaughn. That alone made the trade worth it.
It truly seemed like a great deadline strategy. If Civale performed anywhere close to what Adrian Houser has done since joining the White Sox, moving Civale could be a catalyst for the current rebuild.
Unfortunately, Civale has not been getting the job done. He now looks less and less desirable with every game he starts.
Civale gets shelled by Toronto
After giving up five runs in the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, Civale’s ERA with the White Sox is even higher than it was with the Brewers.
In five starts on the South Side, Civale is 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA in 25 innings pitched.
The White Sox have certainly seen worse, but it’s getting hard to imagine any contending team will be giving up a prospect of value for a 3- year-old starting pitcher that averages five innings and three earned runs per start.
If Chicago can’t get a legitimately intriguing prospect for Civale, it might be more logical for them to hold onto him during the second half to eat innings.
Civale can eat innings if he stays with the White Sox
Adrian Houser seems like a lock to be traded. When he is, that will leave the White Sox with Civale and a bunch of young starters that will wear down the stretch of the season.
Shane Smith already looks to be tiring out and may benefit from having a start skipped with the White Sox moving to a six-man rotation.
It’s hard to predict how fatigue may impact Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin, and Sean Burke, as well. All three pitchers are approaching their career high in innings. Cannon and Martin have already had IL stints this season.
Even if the White Sox get helped out by Martín Pérez or bring in reinforcements by calling up Noah Schultz and Shane Murphy from the minor leagues, it might be nice to have Civale taking the ball once a week, just in case.
I can’t fault Chris Getz and the White Sox for their thinking when it comes to the Andrew Vaughn-Aaron Civale trade. But at this point, it definitely doesn’t look like it is working out.