On Monday, July 31, Aaron Civale ’13 was in Houston with his Cleveland teammates as the Guardians were opening a three-game series vs. the Astros. 

On Tuesday, August 1, he was talking to the press in Tampa, having been traded to the Rays. 

Such is the life of a Major League Baseball player. One day here, the next day there, never much certainty. But this deal represents a great opportunity for Aaron, who grew up in East Windsor, Conn.  

Tampa is well positioned to make the American League playoffs and had the third-best record among the 30 Major League Baseball teams as of August 3.  Cleveland has struggled all year to get beyond the .500 mark, though the Guardians remain very much in the playoff chase because of the weak American League Central division.   

“There’s obviously a lot of emotions involved in every direction that you could imagine,” Aaron was quoted as saying in the Tampa Times. “But at the end of the day, I’m super excited for the opportunity. The Rays are one of the best teams in baseball, they do things the right way. I’ve heard nothing but great things about how things are done over there. So I’m excited to jump right in.” 

The Rays gave up first baseman Kyle Manzardo in the deal. He was Tampa’s minor league player of the year in 2022. 

Tampa infielder Brandon Lowe told the Times: “For the Rays to give [Manzardo] up for Civale, it shows that much more of who he is as a pitcher and what he can do for us, and how much they believe that he can help this team.” 

Aaron was injured earlier this season, but he had a hot July, allowing only six runs in 37.1 innings over six starts for a 1.45 earned run average. For the season he is 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA. He was 29-23 for the Guardians in five seasons and 76 starts. 

“You'll often hear teams describe trade situations as ones they'll only act on if they get blown away with an offer,” wrote Ryan Lewis in the Akron Beacon Journal. “This one probably fit the bill. Manzardo has a career .935 OPS in the minors and, most importantly, plays a position that the Guardians haven't been able to develop on their own. The Guardians have been able to churn out quality pitching seemingly with the snap of a finger. But on the position player side? Well, there's a reason they just got no-hit.” 

Cleveland was no-hit Tuesday night, August 1, by Framber Valdez of the Astros. 

Aaron, now 28 years old, threw a no-hitter for Loomis Chaffee as a senior. He went to Northeastern University in Boston and was a third-round draft choice of Cleveland in 2016.  In 2021 Aaron was Cleveland’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given to one Major League Baseball player each year in part for his work in the community. 

Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said in an ESPN story that the deal was a tough one to make despite getting a top prospect from Tampa. “We knew it would come at a steep cost,” Antonetti said.  

Aaron is listed as the Rays’ probable starting pitcher for Saturday’s game vs. The Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit.