Aaron Civale joins Cubs: Depth move or difference-maker? |
Dustin Riese
· · 7 hours ago
With rosters set to expand from 26 to 28 players on Monday, the late-season Free Agent/Waiver wire is starting to pick up some steam. Not the same as it was years ago when the trade deadline and waiver wire were treated separately, teams still have an opportunity to find some quality big-league talent, hoping they can make an impact come playoff time.
The Cubs have taken that to heart as they signed Carlos Santana earlier in the day and have now doubled down by picking up Aaron Civale, who was recently put on the waiver wire by the Chicago White Sox after a brutal season this year. Since joining the league in 2019 with the Cleveland Guardians, Civale has had an up-and-down career, having started 135 games in those seasons. In those games, Civale has posted a 42-44 career record with a 4.18 ERA, which is the definition of a mediocre pitcher. While you would love for the overall numbers to be better, Civale is an excellent back-of-the-rotation option, as he has always been known as an innings eater when he is right. The 2025 season has been a struggle for the right-hander who opened the season with the Brewers before being dealt to the Southside as part of the Andrew Vaughn deal. Civale has started 13 games this season and has gone 2-7 in those games. What is even more concerning is the 5.37 ERA, which, as it stands right now, would be a career worst showing for him. High ERAs are nothing new for Civale, as he has posted an ERA north of 4.7 several times. However, he has also demonstrated the ability to be a reliable middle of the rotation arm, which he displayed during the best season of his career in 2021 with the Guardians. Across 21 games that season, Civale won a career best 12 games, while losing five, all while posting a 3.84 ERA. Two seasons later, he posted a career-best 3.46 ERA over 23 starts, as he was rounding into form as a starter. The past two seasons have been a struggle for Civale, and that has led to not only one release but two releases this season as the White Sox let him go before their game with the Yankees, only to have him picked up by the Cubs. Civale is just one of the flurry of roster moves the Cubs made on Sunday, with Porter Hodge being added to the active roster in exchange for Jordan Wicks, while Tom Cosgrove has been DFA'd for Civale. Given that rosters expand on Monday, Civale will likely find a way onto the MLB roster, as he is a proven veteran arm that could be utilized in a variety of ways down the stretch. That brings us to the million-dollar question. What do the Cubs expect to get from Civale the rest of the way? Given his performance throughout the season, his desire to be a starter, and his familiarity with the Cubs, it's likely that he will want to be a starter with the Team. Finding starts for him could be difficult, as Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton, Colin Rea, and Javier Assad are all doing a fine job right now. You also have Jameson Taillon on the IL, set to return in the coming days, which will add another starter to this roster. What makes things intriguing is that Rea and Horton are already over their career high in innings pitched, with Horton nearly doubling his career workload this season. Boyd is another pitcher who is at or approaching a career high in innings pitched, so the Cubs would love to give any one of these guys a start or two off. Adding a player like Civale will allow the Cubs the ability to do that, as he could pair with Ben Brown in the bullpen as a swing guy capable of making starts down the stretch. There is also the possibility that Civale could be sent to AAA Iowa to provide pitching depth and continue pitching on regular rest until the end of their season. Either way, the Cubs may not be done adding to their roster as Jed Hoyer will continue to monitor who is available heading into Monday.
