Guardians trade Civale to Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays added a big arm to their rotation for the playoff push, acquiring right-hander Aaron Civale from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for first base prospect Kyle Manzardo, the teams announced Monday.
Civale will make his Rays debut Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, manager Kevin Cash said, according to Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Florida.
Civale, 28, owns a lifetime 3.77 ERA and 4.05 FIP with 370 strikeouts and 107 walks over five seasons with the Guardians. He's in the midst of a career year, sporting a 2.34 ERA and 1.03 WHIP along with 58 strikeouts and 22 walks in 13 starts for Cleveland. His six-pitch arsenal features a devastating curveball that ranks top 10 in the majors in average spin, per Baseball Savant.
He gives the cost-conscious Rays another dependable pitcher who'll be with the team for several more years. Civale is earning $2.6 million this year and has another two seasons of arbitration eligibility remaining.
Civale adds some much-needed firepower to a Rays pitching staff that's been decimated by injuries all year. The Rays are without Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen after both needed season-ending elbow surgeries, while Josh Fleming has been out since May due to his own elbow injury. Ace Shane McClanahan also recently missed time because of a back issue.
Despite the injuries, the Rays' staff has continued to excel. Tampa Bay pitchers own the third-lowest ERA (3.81) in the majors and have combined to allow just 1.07 home runs per nine innings.
Tampa Bay moved to bolster its starting rotation amid a 7-16 skid in July that's dropped them out of the AL East lead for the first time all year. Still, the club sits in the first wild-card spot and remains just 1.5 games back of the first-place Baltimore Orioles entering play Tuesday.
The Guardians chose to trade Civale, one of their most reliable starters, despite sitting just a half-game out of first place in the AL Central.
Manzardo is currently on the IL with a sore left shoulder. Before getting hurt, he was hitting .238/.342/.442 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs at Triple-A Durham.
The 23-year-old was ranked by MLB.com as the Rays' No. 4 prospect, and No. 37 overall, prior to the trade, and is seen by some as a potentially major-league ready bat. However, he has no defensive position beyond first base, which likely left him blocked behind Yandy Diaz in Tampa Bay.