The Cleveland Guardians have traded right-hander Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for first baseman Kyle Manzardo, confirmed by the Guardians president Chris Antonetti on Monday.
“We are really excited to welcome Kyle to the organization,” Antonetti spoke in a Monday press conference. “Kyle has emerged as one of the better offensive performers in the minor leagues. He’s got a great offensive track record. We believe he can develop into a really productive major league player.”
Manzardo, 23, is a former 2nd round draft selection (63rd overall) by the Rays in 2021, and has blossomed into a top prospect through the minor league ranks. The left-handed batter has posted a .238/.342/.442 slash line in 73 games for Triple-A Durham this season, along with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in. For his minor league career, Manzardo has a .291 batting average, 35 home runs, 127 RBIs, and a .935 OPS.
Manzardo is currently on the injured list with a shoulder strain sustained earlier this month, with Antonetti confirming Mazardo as a “few weeks away” from returning to minor league play.
Antonetti emphasized the importance of the organization adding offensive depth to the Guardians’ major and minor league rosters: “Dating back to last season, it’s been a great point of emphasis for us to try and add offensive players to our major league team and the upper levels of out minor league systems. We felt this was a unique opportunity to be able to acquire someone like Kyle and bring him into the organization.”
Civale went 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts this season for the Guardians (53-53), who enter Monday a half-game out of first place in the AL Central.
“Aaron’s been a key contributor to our starting rotation,” said Antonetti. “Especially here recently. Dating back over the last two years. But, in the end, we felt this made sense for us, in being able to add an impact offensive player – or, what we think can be an impact offensive player for our organization.”
The trade was finalized for Cleveland as three of its top starting pitchers – Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill – all currently remain on the injured list. The Guardians traded for former All-Star starter Noah Syndergaard last Wednesday (in exchange for infielder Amed Rosario), while rookies Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, and Gavin Williams have operated within Cleveland’s starting rotation during this season. Additional starters for the Guardians this season have included Peyton Battenfield, Xzavion Curry, and Hunter Gaddis – all three of whom Antonetti cited as potential fill-ins over the latter portion of the season.
“We do feel we have some options to turn to, both with our internal guys [and] young pitchers in Triple-A. Cal Quantrill, hopefully, will be returning in the next few weeks. After that, hopefully [McKenzie] and [Bieber]. In the meantime, we are going to have to fill the void that this creates in the rotation. Hopefully, [Syndergaard] can be part of that, but then guys like [Curry], [Battenfield], Joey Cantillo, [Gaddis], and others can also be options for us as we look towards the mound.”
The MLB trade deadline is set for Tuesday at 6 p.m. EST.