Milwaukee Brewers’ struggling pitcher, Aaron Civale, was not happy after manager Pat Murphy decided to demote him to a bullpen role to make room for top prospect Jacob Misiorowski in the rotation.
A day later, Civale requested a trade. The 30-year-old righty believes he is good enough to continue in the starting role and that if he is not in the rotation at the Brewers, he will explore options at other clubs.
Now, Murphy has responded.
Why Was Aaron Civale Removed From Brewers’ Starting Rotation?
In his seven-year MLB career across 122 regular-season games, Civale has always been in the starting rotation. So it comes as no surprise that he did not take well to being asked to move to a bullpen role. But the decision to remove Civale from the starting rotation wasn’t made lightly.
He has struggled to deliver consistent performances this season with one win, two losses while posting a 4.91 ERA. When the Brewers saw an opportunity to inject fresh energy into the rotation, they turned to their top prospect, Misiorowski. He has a flame-throwing arm and can reach three digits on the radar gun regularly.
On top of that, he dominated Triple-A Nashville this season, improving his command on the mound, posting a 2.13 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings while making a significant step in honing skills apart from his power arm.
Meanwhile, Misiorowski’s arrival meant that there was a surplus of starting pitchers in the rotation, and Civale turned out to be the odd man out. The other pitchers in the rotation have a much better record this season: Freddy Peralta (2.69 ERA), José Quintana (2.66 ERA), Quinn Priester (3.65 ERA), and Chad Patrick (3.25 ERA).
And the last straw? Misiorowski tossed five scoreless innings on his major league debut in the opener of the four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, helping the Brewers to a 6-0 win.
Brewers Manager Pat Murphy Issues Warning to Aaron Civale
After tension between Civale and the Brewers, manager Murphy addressed reporters on the pitcher’s dissatisfaction, and he didn’t mince any words while sending a clear message to the right-hander.
While Murphy acknowledged Civale’s frustration, he declared that as long as the pitcher was on the Brewers, he would have to ‘behave’ and pitch for the team. “He’s got a right to feel how he wants to feel, but now it’s time for him to go behave,” Murphy told reporters on Civale’s trade request. “He’s got to go pitch for us if we ask him to pitch for us, and I think he will. He’s that type of guy, and I respect him a great deal.”
Pat Murphy on Aaron Civale: “He’s got a right to feel how he wants to feel, but now it’s time for him to go behave. He’s got to go pitch for us if we ask him to pitch for us, and I think he will. He’s that type of guy and I respect him a great deal.” pic.twitter.com/Qa8qXTwL8g
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) June 12, 2025
When asked if he understood Civale’s point of view, looking for free agency, Murphy emphasized that they were not in the business of positioning players but were focused on rebuilding and winning games.