Aaron Civale is returning to the NL Central for the second time this season, and he only needs to travel across town to do it.
On Sunday, the Chicago Cubs claimed Civale off waivers from the White Sox. The White Sox called up right-hander Bryse Wilson before their series finale against the Yankees to fill Civale’s spot in the rotation.
Civale has had mixed results since joining the White Sox. After posting a 4.91 ERA in his first five starts with the Brewers, he was removed from the starting rotation and requested a trade shortly after. The Brewers obliged and sent him to the White Sox in exchange for Andrew Vaughn.
Part of the trade stemmed from Civale’s desire to remain a starting pitcher in the hopes of boosting his value. The 30-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and has never pitched an inning out of the bullpen at the major league level. But ultimately, the White Sox came out on the wrong end of the deal.
Although Civale turned in three quality starts during his stint with the White Sox, he struggled overall, finishing with a 5.37 ERA across 13 outings. His final appearance came against the Royals, where he was tagged for five runs on five hits and failed to make it through the fifth inning.
Now, Civale will return to the NL Central, where he has spent parts of the last two seasons. Last season, he had 14 starts with the Brewers after getting traded from Tampa Bay and threw the ball well to the tune of a 3.53 ERA and 1.216 WHIP.
He will now try to help the Cubs track down his former team in a tight divisional race. The Cubs currently have the 10th-best team ERA in the MLB. They added a handful of short-term rentals during the trade deadline, including Michael Soroka, who left with an injury in his first start in a Cubs uniform. Civale has a chance to take Soroka’s role as the No. 5 starter.
