The St. Joseph Jokers are anxious to put the shaky performances in 2022 and 2023 behind them from their pitching staff as GM Rick Steen added his fourth starting pitcher on the Winter on Friday. The Jokers will acquire right-hander Aaron Civale (2FA/$5) from the San Mateo Oppo Tacos in exchange for a 2024 5th Round Pick (69th Overall).
Civale was traded from Cleveland to Tampa Bay for first base prospect Kyle Manzardo straight up at the deadline. His strikeout rate jumped from 19 percent to 29.3 percent and his walk rate dropped from 7.2 percent to 5.6 percent after the trade. While the results after the deal were shaky (5.36 ERA in 10 starts with the Rays), a deeper look reveals brighter days could be ahead.
He had a 3.26 xFIP over that unlucky stretch and his 23.7 K-BB% in 45.1 innings after the trade was an elite mark. In fact it was similar to his new teammate Zach Eflin's 23.0 K-BB% on the season, and Civale happens to have almost an identical repertoire to Eflin. Perhaps that's why the Rays targeted him. Civale missed almost two months early in the season with an oblique strain and still tallied 133.1 innings, including his rehab assignment. He shouldn't have any notable workload restrictions in 2024 with a secured spot in the Rays rotation.
Civale carries an impressive 389.0 point projection by CBS, marking 1,537 projected points acquired with the four starters the club has added this off-season (Sonny Gray, Michael Wacha, Kodai Senga).
The deal marks the first official move by the San Mateo Oppo Tacos and GM Erik Nielsen who appears far from done this Winter. The club is still looking to move outfielder Juan Soto (2/$65) among others with Nielsen looking to rebuild a Farm System that was depleted by previous Ownership in 2023.
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