The Milwaukee Brewers once again find themselves within striking distance of playoff contention following a 9-1 hot stretch, but it doesn't mean they'll suddenly be ignored in the seller's market during the trade deadline. While FanSided's MLB insider Robert Murray doesn't believe Brewers' ace Freddy Peralta will be moved this summer, Murray is now the second national expert to toss starting pitcher Aaron Civale in trade rumors this week.
The Brewers are trying to balance competing in 2025, while also keeping an eye on the future. Peralta's $8 million club option for the 2026 season makes him one of the most attractive starters on the trade market, but now that Milwaukee has jumped within a game of a Wild Card spot they'll most likely table any Peralta trade talks until the offseason.
Although Peralta is expected to stay in a Brewers' uniform through 2025, Milwaukee's front office may look to trade Civale, who will be a free agent after this year.
Murray brought up Civale's name during this week's episode of, "The Baseball Insiders," suggesting that the 29-year-old starting pitcher could be on the radar of the Houston Astros.
"A possibility to sell something off the major league roster, while still trying to contend is the Brewers. And the Brewers and Astros have a history of making deals. Again, I know I've mentioned Freddy Peralta the other day in my story. I said it in my last podcast, but I do not think the Brewers will trade Peralta. I firmly believe there will be plenty of teams who check in just because the Brewers have a history of trading players in that contracts case. I think they hold on to him, especially now that they're trying to contend and maybe the re-evaluate that in the offseason. But Aaron Civale, who signed for $8 million bucks this year that is a free agent at the end of the year could be an option. As I said, the Brewers and Astros have a history of making trades together. Most of those I believe were made with David Stearns in town so maybe that could complicate things a little bit. "Robert Murray, "The Baseball Insiders"
Civale also made sense as a potential trade candidate in the eyes of ESPN's Jeff Passan. Earlier this week, Passan made the case for the Brewers trading Civale as the team can afford to lose one of their starting pitchers thanks to incredible depth on their pitching staff.
The Brewers' starting rotation has collectively posted a 3.48 ERA, sixth-best in MLB through June 5. Even if they trade Civale, the Brewers would still have Peralta, Jose Quintana, Chad Patrick, Quinn Priester and Tobias Myers as rotation arms. Not to mention, Brandon Woodruff is nearing a return to the Brewers as well as Nestor Cortes, who could be back by the All-Star break. Oh, and then you have Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson waiting in the wings at Triple-A, too.
Civale's overall numbers so far in 2025 look bad, but that's mostly because of his first start of the season. The right-hander allowed five earned runs in three innings of work against the New York Yankees and was then placed on the injured list with a strained left hamstring on March 31. Civale returned on May 22, and since then he's recorded a 3.14 ERA in three starts, continuing his solid pitching from 2024 with the Brewers.
The Brewers acquired Civale from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 3, 2024, in exchange for infielder Gregory Barrios. Civale started 14 games for the Brewers last year and had a 3.53 ERA. Now, after signing him to an $8 million contract for the 2025 season, the Brewers are in a position to do what they do best, flip veterans and win on the margins with under-the-radar deals.
Milwaukee hasn't been a stranger to trading players off its MLB roster to improve other needs on the team, so fans shouldn't be surprised to see Civale traded in what will most assuredly become a desperate buyer's market for starting pitching.