Taking a way too early look at potential Guardians trade chips

Aaron Civale

Contractually this does not necessarily mesh with how the Guardians like to do things. Aaron Civale has two more arbitration eligible years remaining after 2023. But if Cleveland were to move Civale, it would be about clearing space for the young up and coming arms such as Tanner Bibee, Logan T. Allen, and Gavin Williams. Bibee and Allen have already made their debuts while Williams is likely to make his later this season. It is clear who the future rotation staples are in Cleveland and Civale looks like one of the odd men out.

Performance-wise Civale has been up and down throughout his career, seemingly alternating between good and bad years. 2023 was looking to follow that pattern as his 2.84 ERA and 1.026 WHIP was following the aforementioned pattern. While it was only 12.2 innings, the fact that the pattern appeared to be true yet again cannot be understated.