Right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale has been removed from the Milwaukee Brewers’ rotation, and is now seeking a transfer from the team. Civale lost his spot in the rotation to promising prospect Jacob Misiorowski, who was called up from Triple-A Nashville to make his MLB debut against the St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee also has Freddy Peralta, rookie Chad Patrick, Quinn Priester, and José Quintana in its initial rotation. Shortly after the team informed Civale that he would be moved to the bullpen, his agent, Jack Toffey, requested that Brewers general manager Matt Arnold consider a trade. The conversation was very professional. I simply said respectfully that Aaron would really want to have the opportunity to continue his career as an opener. He will be a free agent at the end of the year. Toffey explained that Civale is simply evaluating his options.
The Brewers manager, Pat Murphy, has a different perspective on Civale’s move to the bullpen.Aaron is not angry or banging on the table. But it’s a bit confusing because it wasn’t his performance that took him out of the rotation. It’s more of a subjective choice that the organization is making.
Jack Toffey
Civale, who turned 30 on Thursday, has made all 122 of his career regular season appearances as a starter. However, he came out of the bullpen in the Game 1 loss of the 2024 National League Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, pitching three scoreless innings. So far this season with Milwaukee, Civale is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in five starts. In his career, he has a 40-37 record with an ERA of 4.06 with Cleveland (2019-23), the Tampa Bay Rays (2023-24), and the Brewers, who acquired him in a trade last July. Arnold commented on Civale:He is not happy.
Pat Murphy
Arnold added that things can change and that Civale could be a starter again. “We used, how many, 17 different openers last year? There’s always something that can happen and he can go back to that role and has shown he can do it at a high level in the Major Leagues and especially here. At this moment, we believe it’s the right decision for him and for the team.He’s a player who was a very useful part of our team last year. We brought him in a trade, he’s done a good job here, coming back from an injury. He hasn’t done anything wrong here, certainly, and I think he’ll continue to get opportunities.
Matt Arnold
