Red Sox Eyeing White Sox's Aaron Civale to Bolster Thin Starting Rotation: Report

Red Sox Eyeing White Sox's Aaron Civale to Bolster Thin Starting Rotation: Report originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Boston Red Sox do not have a viable starting pitching rotation. They have three pitchers that can toe the rubber every five days, including Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, and Brayan Bello. They need arms and are desperate to upgrade the backend of their rotation. As a result, Boston is scouring the trade market in hopes of acquiring one of the top pitchers available. However, they are also turning to an unlikely source to fill their needs.

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Red Sox have expressed interest in Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Aaron Civale, and prefer to acquire him over teammate Adrian Houser.

Cotillo highlights Civale, a native of Connecticut and Northeastern alum, being open about his desire to play for the Red Sox as a reason for a potential link-up. Unfortunately for the right-hander, he does not have control over his destination — as evidenced by his early-season trade from the Milwaukee Brewers to the White Sox.

Civale, 30, remains a low-cost, easily attainable rental option for Boston, and even if the Red Sox land one of the Arizona Diamondbacks' starters, he could still be in play.

Through 13 starts, the veteran has a 4.38 ERA and 48 strikeouts across 63.2 innings. Ironically, he has seen an improvement after being traded to the White Sox. His ERA, WHIP, hits, and home runs allowed have all decreased. He may not be a preferred deadline addition, but he could offer some valuable innings to Boston’s rotation.

Civale will not be the key piece to securing a postseason birth for the Red Sox. But with Crochet’s recent start getting pushed back to reduce his workload and the lack of consistency behind their top three starters, Civale may be an underrated deadline target.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.