Andrew Vaughn Gets Fresh Start as White Sox Trade Him to Brewers

The 27-year-old Cal alum was assigned by Milwaukee to its Triple-A club at Nashville

Andrew Vaughn / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Andrew Vaughn will get a fresh start to his baseball career after being traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

The 27-year-old former Cal star, sent down to Triple-A Charlotte last month, will  begin his time with the Brewers’ organization at their Triple-A team in Nashville. Vaughn did not play for the Sounds on Friday night.

Milwaukee sent right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale and cash considerations to the White Sox.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy looks forward to what Vaughn can bring to his club, which is 38-33 after a 3-2 win over St. Louis on Friday night and second in the National League Central.

“I think he was excited about it,” Murphy told MLB.com. “He’s not having a great early season so far, so hopefully he’ll get himself on track and maybe come up with us.

"We're looking to get him on track hitting right now and then we'll figure out a way where he's one of our nine hitters," Murphy added. "We'll figure out the rest after that. He's got to go down there and play well."

Vaughn was the No. 3 pick by the White Sox in the 2019 draft and was in his fifth big league season playing first base or designated hitter. The one-time collegiate player of the year has 77 career home runs and 293 RBI.

But he had struggled mightily this season, batting .189 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 48 games before Chicago demoted him to Charlotte on May 23. 

“He had some really good moments, some good stretches, but also came with some struggles,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz told the Chicago Tribune. “We sent him to Triple A to work on his offensive game. 

“With players like Vaughn where there’s so much pressure on the bat, it can become an issue in regards to managing a roster with some of the positional limitations. There is future production at the major-league level for Andrew Vaughn, I really believe in that.”

The White Sox made the deal because they felt the need to add pitching. 

Andrew Vaughn celebrates a good moment with the Charlotte Knights / Photo by Laura Wolff, Charlotte Knights

Vaughn was batting .211 with two homers and 11 RBIs with the Charlotte Knights. 

“We do wish Andrew well,” Getz said. “He’s been a leader in our clubhouse. He’s been productive and it’s my job to look out for the health of this organization and we feel like this was a move to really support that.”

In 610 games over five seasons with the White Sox, Vaughn had a .248 career batting average, a .303 on-base percentage and a .407 slugging percentage.

He career highs of 21 home runs and 80 RBIs in 2023.

Vaughn won the 2018 Golden Spikes Award, presented by USA Baseball, as the top amateur player in the country after his sophomore season. He batted .402 with a program record-tying 23 home runs, 63 RBIs and a single-season record .819 slugging percentage.

He was voted first-team All-American again as a junior in 2019 before being drafted by the White Sox.

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