Aaron James Civale (/sɪˈvɑːl/ sih-VAH-lee;[1] born June 12, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians / Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays. Civale played college baseball at Northeastern University, and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Indians.

Aaron Civale
Civale with the Cleveland Indians in 2019
Milwaukee Brewers – No. 32
Pitcher
Born: (1995-06-12) June 12, 1995 (age 29)
East Windsor, Connecticut, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 2019, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record39–35
Earned run average4.03
Strikeouts577
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Amateur career

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A native of East Windsor, Connecticut, Civale attended Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut.[2][3] He played college baseball at Northeastern University.[2][3] Civale was honored as Co-Pitcher of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association after going 9–3 with a 1.73 ERA for the Huskies. While playing for the Huskies, he pitched an exhibition game in Florida against the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) at JetBlue Park. Before this start, Civale was a relief pitcher for the Huskies for two years.[4][5] In 2015, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was a league all-star, and received the Outstanding New England Prospect award.[6][7]

Professional career

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Cleveland Indians / Guardians

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The Cleveland Indians selected Civale in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft.[8][9] He signed and spent 2016 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers[4] where he was 0–2 with a 1.67 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 13 starts. In 2017, he played for both the Lake County Captains and Lynchburg Hillcats, posting a combined 13–6 record with a 3.28 ERA in 27 total starts between the two teams, and in 2018, he pitched with the Akron RubberDucks where he went 5–7 with a 3.89 ERA in 21 starts.[10] He returned to Akron to begin 2019. Civale was promoted to the Columbus Clippers on June 6.[11] He made seven starts between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus going 5–0 with a 2.85 ERA before being called up.[12]

On June 21, 2019, his contract was selected and Civale was called up to the major leagues for the first time.[13][14] In his first game, he went 6 innings with 6 strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers and winning the game 2–0 after Brad Hand saved his 22nd game.[15] He became the 10th Major League pitcher (and first for the Indians) since at least 1908 to pitch at least 5+23 innings and allow 2 runs or fewer in each of his first six career appearances as a starter.

In 2020 he was 4–6 with a 4.74 ERA.[16] He led the AL in hits allowed (82) and highest batting average against (.282).[17][18] On June 23, 2021, Civale was placed on the injured list with a middle finger sprain. At the time of his placement, Civale led the MLB in wins with 10.[19] On July 26, Civale was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Civale returned in September and on October 3, he was the winning pitcher in Cleveland's final game under their Indians nickname, pitching six scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers.[20] He finished the 2021 season with a 12–5 record and a 3.84 ERA in 21 starts.

On January 13, 2023, Civale agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million contract with the Guardians, avoiding salary arbitration.[21]

Tampa Bay Rays

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On July 31, 2023, the Guardians traded Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays for infield prospect Kyle Manzardo.[22][23] In 10 starts down the stretch, he compiled a 2–3 record and 5.36 ERA with 58 strikeouts across 45+13 innings pitched.

Civale was signed to a one-year deal worth $4.9 million for 2024.[24] He made 17 starts for Tampa Bay, posting a 2–6 record and 5.07 ERA with 84 strikeouts across 87 innings.[25]

Milwaukee Brewers

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On July 3, 2024, the Rays traded Civale to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Gregory Barrios.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Akron RubberDucks Player and Staff Roster (as of Monday, April 2, 2018). Retrieved June 5, 2021
  2. ^ a b Borges, Dave (September 2, 2017). "Minor league notebook: East Windsor's Civale tops state prospect list". New Haven Register. New Haven, Connecticut: Hearst Communications. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Abraham, Peter (March 4, 2015). "Northeastern's Aaron Civale impresses Red Sox". The Boston Globe. Boston: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Glasier, David (May 9, 2017). "Aaron Civale dominates as Captains edge Snappers". The News-Herald. Willoughby, Ohio: Digital First Media. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  5. ^ Bastian, Jordan (June 10, 2016). "One spring day, Tribe pick Civale set down Red Sox". MLB.com. Manhattan: MLB Advanced Media (Major League Baseball). Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  6. ^ "Hyannis' Civale named top New England Prospect". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "#17 Aaron Civale". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Bastian, Jordan (May 24, 2018). "Indians pick Aaron Civale switches to starting". MLB.com. Manhattan: MLB Advanced Media (Major League Baseball). Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  9. ^ Hoynes, Paul (June 10, 2016). "Cleveland Indians select Northeastern RHP Aaron Civale in third round of MLB draft". Cleveland.com. Cleveland: Advance Publications. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "Aaron Civale Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MLB.com. Manhattan: MLB Advanced Media (Major League Baseball). Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  11. ^ Hemminger, Brian (June 9, 2019). "Aaron Civale strong in Triple-A debut, Speer and Cruz both begin games with four no-hit innings in losses". Let's Go Tribe. United States: SB Nation. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  12. ^ "Detroit Tigers dazzled by Indians pitcher making MLB debut, lose 2-0". Detroit Free Press. Detroit: Detroit Media Partnership (Gannett Company). Associated Press. June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Steer, Jen (June 21, 2019). "Indians put Mike Clevinger on injured list with sprained ankle". WJW. Cleveland: Tribune Broadcasting. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  14. ^ Noga, Joe (June 22, 2019). "Cleveland Indians release struggling OF Leonys Martin, promote RHP Aaron Civale". Cleveland.com. Cleveland: Advance Publications. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Hoynes, Paul (June 22, 2019). "Cleveland Indians launch another secret pitching weapon (Aaron Civale) in 2-0 win over Tigers". Cleveland.com. Cleveland: Advance Publications. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  16. ^ "Aaron Civale Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. ^ "2020 American League Batting Against". Baseball-Reference.com.
  18. ^ "2020 American League Standard Pitching". Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "Cleveland starter Aaron Civale to miss 4-5 weeks with finger sprain as rotation suffers another loss to injury". June 23, 2021.
  20. ^ Bell, Mandy (October 3, 2021). "Cleveland rolls behind Civale's six scoreless". MLB.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  21. ^ "2023 MLB Arbitration Tracker". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  22. ^ Anderson, R. J. "Aaron Civale trade: Rays acquire much-needed pitching help from Guardians, send back No. 3 prospect". CBSSports.com.
  23. ^ Passan, Jeff (July 31, 2023). "Rays add RHP Aaron Civale in trade with Guardians". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  24. ^ "Aaron Civale Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
  25. ^ "Brewers acquire Civale from Rays for IF prospect Barrios". mlb.com. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Passan, Jeff (July 3, 2024). "Brewers acquire RHP Aaron Civale from Rays to bolster rotation". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
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