After five seasons in Chicago, the White Sox are parting ways with Andrew Vaughn. According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, the White Sox are trading the first baseman to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale.
Civale had requested a trade from the Brewers on Thursday, following the team's decision to move him out of the rotation for top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski. Civale is set to become a free agent after the season and has never pitched an inning out of the bullpen at the major league or minor league level.
In five starts this season, the 30-year-old owns a 4.91 ERA across 22 innings, with 19 strikeouts and a 7.4% walk rate. However, he injured his hamstring after his first start of the season and has looked solid since his return last month, posting a 3.32 ERA in his previous four starts.
After the Brewers moved him to the bullpen, Civale reportedly spoke with the team's baseball operations staff, expressing his preference to continue his career as a starting pitcher. The Brewers responded swiftly by dealing Civale to the South Side of Chicago.
Civale owns a career 4.06 ERA, while posting a 21.8% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate across seven seasons in the big leagues. He spent his first five seasons in Cleveland before getting traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023, then was traded to the Brewers in 2024.
While Civale will likely be flipped at the trade deadline once again, adding the veteran to the pitching staff was a smart move for the White Sox. The front office was lucky to get anything of value in return for Vaughn, whose -1.6 bWAR ranked second worst in the MLB.
Since being selected third overall in the 2019 draft, Andrew Vaughn’s career has seen a steady downward trend with the White Sox. After spending his first two seasons adjusting to right field—a position outside his natural role—Vaughn found more success in 2023 when he was moved back to first base. That year, he posted his best season yet, slashing .258/.314/.429 with a career-high 21 home runs and 80 RBIs.
However, Vaughn was unable to build on his 2023 success. He posted a .699 OPS last season, followed by a steep decline to a .531 mark this year, along with a career-high 22.3% strikeout rate. Through his first 48 games of the season, he slashed just .189/.218/.314, prompting the White Sox to option him to Triple-A Charlotte, where his struggles have continued, hitting just .211.
Given Vaughn’s sharp decline in performance, it became increasingly evident that he no longer figured into the White Sox’s long-term plans. With just one year of team control remaining, the front office faced limited trade value this offseason, making Vaughn a clear non-tender candidate. He ends his tenure in Chicago with a .248/.303/.407 slash line, 77 home runs, 293 RBIs, and a -0.4 WAR over parts of five seasons.
The Brewers likely see Vaughn as a potential cheap replacement at first base, with Rhys Hoskins expected to leave in free agency this offseason. Vaughn is worth the flyer given his draft pedigree, and while his current offensive numbers are an eyesore, he has run into some bad luck. His 13.3% barrel rate is the highest of his career, while his hard-hit rate of 48.3% ranks in the top third of the MLB.
