Cubs Claim Aaron Civale on Waivers, Designate Tom Cosgrove for Assignment on Eve of Craigtember

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

In the glory days of what Brewers fans affectionately dubbed 'Craigtember', the Cubs would have an embarrassment of riches and an endless number of ways to utilize them come Monday. They claimed righthander Aaron Civale off waivers from the White Sox Sunday, displacing lefty reliever Tom Cosgrove from the 40-man roster but givin them a proven veteran with the ability to deliver bulk innings throughout the final month of the regular season.

Civale, 30, has not had a banner year in his final season before becoming eligible for free agency. He started the season in the Brewers' starting rotation, but immediately got sidelined by a leg injury and was then displaced by the promotion of rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski. Wanting to prove to offseason suitors that he can be a valuable starter, Civale requested a trade, and was sent to the White Sox—where he's stuck in the rotation, but posted a 5.37 ERA in 13 appearances.

Civale won't be Plan A for any spot in the rotation with Chicago, and he's never appeared in relief in the majors during a regular-season game. On the other hand, he's never appeared in relief in the majors during a regular-season game—which is to say, the upside of such a conversion has yet to be explored for him. He has a six-pitch mix, not counting a sweeper he's cut out of the mix he had last year, and streamlining that—perhaps even reintroducing the sweeper, in the process—could unlock some things for him. So, too, could an extra tick or two on his fastballs. His four-seamer and sinker each sit around 92 miles per hour, but his cutter drives his approach, and it's only 89-90. Bump that up, or rejigger that whole mix and increase the usage of his other heaters, and his profile changes in an intriguing way.

With the change from the old structure of September rosters (whereby teams could carry all 40 of the players on their reserve lists) to the new one (whereby they can add just one batter and one pitcher on September 1), however, this addition creates a mild crunch, even for a team hungry for quality innings. Civale's roster spot could come at the expense of Ben Brown, who fills a similar role (but not well) right now. The second half of August saw the Cubs wheel through a handful of guys in that final relief slot, including Jordan Wicks, Luke Little, Gavin Hollowell, and Porter Hodge. With Ryan Brasier and Michael Soroka both on the injured list but aiming to return by mid-September, there's room for Civale in the short term, but someone will be squeezed out of the picture in the second half of the month. 

Though he's not coming in as a planned part of the rotation, Civale certainly could make starts for the team over the final four weeks. The Cubs' place in the postseason looks very secure, and although they should keep pressing to ensure that they host the Wild Card Series, they'll surely spend a portion of the month trying to ease the workload of starters Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd, among others. A skipped start for Horton or a lengthening to six men in the rotation is very plausible. So, too, is a piggyback arrangement whereby a starter like Horton, Colin Rea or Javier Assad might depart after four innings in favor of Civale, who would work a similar length and save the bullpen a day's work. Until Jameson Taillon returns from the injured list, at the very least, starter-style innings are available.

Opposing batters have just a .679 OPS the first time they see Civale in a game this season. That rises to .818 the second time and .877 the third time. By cutting out the third time altogether and limiting second looks at him for opponents, the Cubs could get some good innings out of Civale down the stretch. It's easy, at least, to see why they're going to give it a shot. Only after the first week or two of the month will the roster math start to get tricky.

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[Arlen]

Well, how about that. Somewhat sensible in theory, maybe not really impactful. 

Edited September 1, 2025 by Arlen