Rays get Civale from Guardians for No. 37 overall prospect

[Auggie]

The Rays made an aggressive move Monday afternoon to add another talented arm to their rotation, acquiring right-hander Aaron Civale from the Guardians for highly touted first-base prospect Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo, 23, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 37 prospect in the game.

Tampa Bay has been in pursuit of another starter leading up to the Trade Deadline, as the club has been beset by pitching injuries to starters Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs and Josh Fleming. Now, the Rays can add Civale to a rotation that already includes Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin.

SNIP

Additionally, Civale is more than a rental, as the 28-year-old is under club control through the 2025 season. That’s part of the reason he came at such a high cost in Manzardo, MLB Pipeline's No. 4 prospect in Tampa Bay’s system. The left-handed-hitting first baseman, a second-round pick in the 2021 Draft, quickly advanced to Triple-A Durham this season, although he’s been sidelined since before the Futures Game due to a sore left shoulder.

The 28-year-old righty turned in a 1.45 ERA over six starts in July, striking out 25 batters with seven walks and just one home run in 37 1/3 innings. By the end of this stretch, his season ERA dropped to an impressive 2.34. The righty isn’t a flame-thrower, but he keeps hitters off balance with a six-pitch mix.

https://www.mlb.com/news/aaron-civale-rays-trade

I'm surprised by this. Civale was the last healthy veteran pitcher they had left ... though Manzardo has home run power, something Cleveland desperately needs.

[Diamond_Dog]

1. What????

I’m in shock they dealt Civale.

[Auggie]

2. I think they're looking towards next year

They're stuck this season with underproducing and expensive Josh Bell plus Myles Straw. Even if they made the playoffs they'd be eliminated early.

Manzardo has trade potential -- maybe he's swapped off-season for a pitcher. Perhaps he makes the team at first and Naylor becomes the DH.

I like to believe there's a plan here. Chris Antonetti thinks ahead.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. Well, obviously it's a concern for next year.

I just thought a good, solid, starting pitcher would be untouchable. Especially since they claimed the reason for trading for Syndergaard was to “eat up innings”. ??