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Rays Trade for Aaron Civale

Jack Sabin / MLB / July 31, 2023

Rays Trade for Aaron Civale

The Rays bring in some much-needed pitching help by trading with the Guardians for Aaron Civale, ESPN MLB reporter Jeff Passan was the first to break the news Monday, one day ahead of the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline.

The Tampa Bay Rays are acquiring right-hander Aaron Civale from the Cleveland Guardians, sources tell ESPN. They will receive first baseman Kyle Manzardo in return.

Deal is done.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2023

With Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen both going down with Tommy John, the Rays were depleted in terms of their rotation. The addition of Civale should help alleviate that and give the Rays a strong five-man rotation. This should also allow them to eliminate the need of using openers which they did with mixed results.

Civale has been great this year, posting a 2.34 ERA and 1.039 WHIP across 77 innings to the tune of a 5-2 record. Civale has been a stable arm for the Guardians and should be just that for a Rays team in desperate need of just that.

He doesn’t have mindblowing stuff with only 58 Ks so far, but prioritizes creating weak contact and locating around the zone.

He is exactly what you want out of a back-end guy in your rotation. He can go out every five days and give you quality starts, relieving your bullpen in the process. The Rays have been faltering ever since their red-hot start. A lack of pitching had a lot to do with that skid.

The Guardians appear to now be in full sell mode. The trade of Amed Rosario for Noah Syndergaard largely hinted at that. But this trade now pretty much proves it.

The return here however isn’t actually all too bad. As the Rays are forced to give up their No. 4 prospect and No. 37 overall Kyle Manzardo.

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Manzardo has a really impressive hit tool who’s been tearing it up in the minor so far. It’s actually a good return for the Guardians and Manzardo should immediately become one of their top prospects.

Of course, more is always wanted from teams and fans, but hey, at least you got a prospect this time, not a 30-year-old pitcher who will be DFA before the month’s end.

This is a good trade for both sides. The Rays get some much-needed pitching help/depth while the Guardians get to start rebuilding their farm system. Both sides get what they want, at least that’s what it looks like on the surface.

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