Aaron Civale is the kind of under-the-radar pickup Rays have perfected

ST. PETERSBURG — This is better than getting Max Scherzer.

The Rays are acquiring a younger pitcher with more contract control and superior numbers this season.

And this is better than getting Lance Lynn, too. Maybe even Lucas Giolito and Jordan Montgomery.

While other teams chased bigger names with longer resumes, the Rays acquired a pitcher with as much potential for impact as any trade deadline acquisition of 2023. Of all the starting pitchers dealt in the past week, Aaron Civale has the highest WAR (via Baseball Reference) and the lowest ERA of the bunch.

And that’s just the beginning. Unlike Giolito and Montgomery, who are two-month rentals, Civale, 28, will be under contract with the Rays through the end of the 2025 season. And thanks to an oblique injury that sidelined him for nearly two months earlier this season, there are no concerns about Civale’s workload with October on the horizon.

So what’s not to like about this trade?

Well, the Rays did give up a top-100 prospect in first baseman Kyle Manzardo. That’s a hefty price for a low-revenue franchise that depends on young, controllable players to keep the payroll manageable. But with Yandy Diaz under contract thru 2026, with Isaac Paredes putting together back-to-back 20-homer seasons, and with Curtis Mead rated more highly in the Tampa Bay farm system, there wasn’t an easy path for Manzardo to crack the big-league lineup at a corner position any time soon.

Also, there is a strong possibility that Civale is pitching out of his mind this summer. His 2.34 ERA is significantly better than his Fielding Independent Pitching number (3.55), which suggests that luck has been on his side when it comes to batted balls finding fielders.

But the bottom line is this:

Four months into the season, the Rays are in position to make a World Series run and they just significantly increased their chances with this move.

“The most specific, identifiable, acute need we had was this season and these next few months and trying to be in a position to compete for this division, first and foremost, and then bigger goals beyond that if we can accomplish that,” said president of baseball operations Erik Neander. “That’s what drove us, but bonus points that we can have the chance to keep (Civale) around beyond these couple of months. It’s certainly really important.”

You might question whether the Rays would have been better off going after a hitter considering their run production has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, but this was the right move. This franchise has always succeeded behind its pitching/defense, and the rotation was too vulnerable after season-ending injuries to Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen. Even if Civale slots in as the No. 4 starter behind Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin, he gives the Rays much-needed stability at a time when onfield performance has been wobbly.

“This was the big item for us,” Neander said.

In the long run, it could also strengthen Tampa Bay’s bullpen. Civale is bumping Taj Bradley from the rotation, which means the Rays can monitor his workload at Triple-A Durham and potentially bring him back as a high-leverage reliever in the postseason, similar to the way they used McClanahan and David Price as rookies.

It looks as if Zack Littell will continue being groomed for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, but the Rays will need only four starters for the postseason and, right now, have pitchers with ERAs of 2.34 (Civale), 3.00 (McClanahan), 3.15 (Glasnow) and 3.64 (Eflin).

Civale, 28, has never been a scout’s darling. He wasn’t a top-100 prospect and was never even listed among Cleveland’s top-10 prospects coming up through the farm system. His fastball is in the 92- to 93-mph range and he doesn’t generate a ton of strikeouts, although his curveball has elite break.

Like Eflin, he survives with good control and keeping hitters off balance with an assortment of six pitches. Civale is in the top 10 in the majors when it comes to limiting the number of balls barreled up by hitters, which works for a team with a defense as good as Tampa Bay’s.

Is it possible that Civale’s career is peaking this month and he will eventually settle into a lesser role as a back-of-the-rotation guy? Yes, there is some evidence that could happen.

But given the options available with fading veteran pitchers and rentals that cost multiple prospects, the idea of getting a starter in his prime for the next two-plus seasons is remarkably appealing.

And the final two months of the 2023 season is now far more interesting in Tampa Bay.

John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

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