Chicago White Sox Trade First Baseman Andrew Vaughn
When the White Sox sent Andrew Vaughn down to Triple-A on May 23, general manager Chris Getz talked about the first baseman making adjustments to reclaim who he was as a player and expecting him to rejoin the team at some point.
Vaughn may still get another chance in the big leagues, but it would be with another team. On Friday, the White Sox traded Vaughn, 27, to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale and cash considerations, the team announced.
The White Sox shipped off Vaughn amid the least productive season in his five-year MLB career. Through 193 plate appearances in the major leagues, he slashed .189/.218/.314 with five home runs, eight doubles, 19 RBIs, seven walks and 43 strikeouts. His Triple-A numbers weren't much better, slashing .211/.328/.351 in 67 plate appearances with the Charlotte Knights.
Vaughn hit between 15 and 21 home runs the previous four seasons, while driving in at least 70 runs in each of the past three. But with a .248 batting average, a .709 OPS and -1.8 wins above replacement across five seasons, Vaughn didn't reach expectations as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. All-Stars Riley Greene, CJ Abrams, Josh Jung, Alek Manoah, Corbin Carroll, George Kirby and Gunnar Henderson were all selected after Vaughn that year.
Civale, 30, is a right-handed pitcher with seven years of major league experience wth the Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.
He began the 2025 season on the injured list with a strained left hamstring before making five starts for the Brewers, recording a 4.91 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP across 22.1 innings. Reports surfaced Thursday that Civale requested to be traded after the Brewers moved him to the bullpen to make room for top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski.
Civale pitched 161 innings as a starter last season for the Rays and Brewers, and he finished with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He could be a candidate to join the White Sox starting rotation, which is still without Jonathan Cannon, who's on the injured list with a lower back strain.
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack