Never quite reaching the promise of when he was drafted, Andrew Vaughn’s tenure on the Southside ended Friday when he was traded to the Brewers for pitcher Aaron Civale. Vaughn, the third overall pick of the 2019 draft by the White Sox, spent just 55 games in the minor leagues before making his debut with the big-league club in 2021. Expected to be the next in a long line of mashers a first base, following Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, and Jose Abreu, Vaughn never quite lived up to that reputation. His best season came in 2023 and, even then, he was worth only 1.1 WAR. His struggles this year, which saw him sent back to Charlotte on May 23, wiped out all of the positive gains of his career, leaving him with a negative WAR. He was looking at a non-tender at the end of this season, so getting something useful back for him is surprising.
Civale has a 40-37 in seven seasons with the Guardians, Rays, and Brewers. He should fill the hole left by Martin Perez’s injury, giving the young pitching staff a veteran presence.
Vaughn’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: