The Milwaukee Brewers had been canvasing the market looking for starting pitching and on Wednesday, agreed to acquire right-hander Aaron Civale from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor-league infielder Gregory Barrios.
Civale, 29, provides much-needed depth to a Brewers rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Both Wade Miley and Robert Gasser are out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. DL Hall, who was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for Corbin Burnes, has been out since April with a knee sprain. Joe Ross, meanwhile, is on the 60-day Injured List with a back strain.
In Tampa Bay, Civale had a 5.17 ERA in 27 starts dating back to last season’s trade deadline. His home runs per nine innings pitched and batting average on balls in play soared. How he’ll fare in a hitters’ friendly ballpark in Milwaukee remains to be seen, but the Brewers are betting on highly-regarded pitching coach Chris Hook and the team’s defense to get Civale closer to the level that he pitched in 2023, where he posted a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts with the Guardians.
Even with Civale, who is signed through 2025, the Brewers remain on the lookout for additional pitching, according to sources, with one team that has spoken with Milwaukee saying they are looking for “all pitching.”
Trading Civale, meanwhile, does not guarantee that the Rays will be trade deadline sellers. They had a starting pitching surplus, dealt from it, and could still listen on Zach Eflin or Zack Littell, among others, while Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe and Jason Adam make sense as other trade candidates. But with the Rays at 43-42 and only three games back in the wild card race, buying should be a very serious consideration. And for a small market team like Tampa Bay, trading Civale and saving $2.4 million gave them more flexibility to do so.
After being released by the Washington Nationals, Eddie Rosario looms as a natural fit for the Atlanta Braves. After all, he was a postseason hero in Atlanta in 2021, and has played 255 games with the Braves over the last three seasons. It’s unclear if the Braves will be interested in Rosario, but signing him and auditioning him in the outfield ahead of the July 30 deadline could make plenty of sense (h/t Mark Bowman of MLB.com).
The Orioles are among the teams that will be in the starting pitching market ahead of the July 30 trade deadline and one of the names that makes sense is Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet. One thing to remember: the Orioles and White Sox had numerous discussions about a Dylan Cease trade in the offseason, so there is plenty of familiarity between the two sides headed into potential negotiations involving Crochet.
The Angels are listening on right-hander Carlos Estevez, who was named American League Reliever of the Month in June after allowing only one baserunner and no runs. He’s in the final year of a two-year, $13.5 million contract and looms as a realistic trade target for teams in need of bullpen reinforcements.
J.T. Brubaker, who the New York Yankees acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates, has made three minor-league starts in his return from Tommy John surgery and posted a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings. In his most recent start in Double-A, he threw three scoreless innings with three strikeouts, and sat 92-93 mph while touching 94 mph. He’s scheduled to pitch in Triple-A on Friday.
Free-agent pitcher Johnny Cueto, who recently opted out of his contract with the Texas Rangers, is drawing interest, a source said. He is looking for a team that needs more immediate starting or long relief help, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported.
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