Brewers trade pitcher Aaron Civale to White Sox for first baseman Andrew Vaughn

On Friday, June 13 the right-hander was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for first baseman-outfielder Andrew Vaughn and cash.

"It's his free-agent year, and for him this gives him an opportunity to start," manager Pat Murphy said. "They've got a big opportunity for him every five days, and that's best for the player. And we looked at it like, 'Can we do something to help ourselves in the meantime?'

First baseman Andrew Vaughn bats against the Kansas City Royals on May 8, 2025.

"So, this might be our answer."

Vaughn, 27, was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft but is currently playing at Class AAA Charlotte after being optioned on May 23 in the wake of a terrible start to the season (.189 average, five home runs, 19 runs batted in, .531 OPS).

In 15 games at Charlotte, Vaughn hit .211/2/11/.679. He's been assigned to Class AAA Nashville by the Brewers.

"I think he's excited about it," Murphy said of Vaughn, to whom he spoke on the phone. "He's not having a great season so far, so hopefully he'll get himself on track and maybe come up and help us.

Last season, Vaughn hit .246/19/70/.699 in 149 games for Chicago. His biggest season came in 2023, when he hit .258/21/80/.743 in 152 games.

"He's 27 years old," Murphy said. "He's already had how many major-league at-bats, in the thousands (2,248)? I think that'll help us with what type of hitter he becomes, and whether it turns into more power than we have.

"We'll see."

Vaughn has played strictly first base since 2023 and also served as a designated hitter at times. He rates as below average defender at first according to the analytics, although the Brewers are apparently considering utilizing him as a corner outfielder also.

"We're looking to get him on track hitting right now and then we'll figure out a way where he's one of our nine hitters," said Murphy. "We'll figure out the rest after that. He's got to go down there and play well."

Civale, a free-agent-to-be, confirmed to reporters on Thursday that he had expressed to the Brewers his interest in remaining a starting pitcher after being moved from Milwaukee's rotation to the bullpen in the wake of the promotion of top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski.

He departs having gone 7-5 with a 3.84 ERA, WHIP of 1.25 and 84 strikeouts over 19 starts (96 innings) since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays last July 3 in exchange for minor-league infielder Gregory Barrios.

Civale joins other ex-Brewers Adrian Houser, Tyler Alexander and Vinny Capra on the White Sox roster.

Brewers make additional roster moves

To take Civale's place on the 26-man roster, the Brewers recalled right-hander Grant Anderson from Nashville.

Additionally, outfielder Drew Avans was recalled from Nashville with outfielder Daz Cameron being placed on the paternity list.

Avans, who turns 29 today, was claimed off waivers from the A's on June 8. He hit .133 in seven games with the A's this season before being designated for assignment.

"He's a speed guy. Left-handed hitter than can run and put the ball in play," Murphy said. "Feisty, hard-nosed kid. He wouldn't have gotten to the big leagues if he wasn't."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers trade pitcher Aaron Civale to White Sox for first baseman Andrew Vaughn