NASHVILLE -- In his final plate appearance of his first professional game as a member of an organization other than the White Sox, Andrew Vaughn hit a grand slam to put the finishing touches the Nashville Sounds' 9-0 victory over the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night.
When he returned to the dugout, he was greeted with a celebratory star-spangled cowboy hat, very much unlike the mobster hat and coat the White Sox wore in 2022, but similar in spirit.
Some things are different for Vaughn in his first full week with the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, and some things are same. He switched organizations, but not levels or leagues, so he might face the Charlotte Knights from the opposing dugout as soon as next month if he's still around. He now wears No. 7, as No. 25 was already taken by his one-time teammate Bobby Dalbec, but he still comes to the plate to the thump-clap of "God's Gonna Cut You Down," which works a little better in Nashville considering Johnny Cash is one of the team's mascot racers.
Things are starting to settle into place for Vaughn, who wasn't used to being unsettled. The four-plus years of stability he'd experienced since breaking camp with the White Sox on Opening Day in 2021 came to a halt in late May, when the White Sox optioned him to the minors for the first time in his career. Three weeks later, he was traded for the first time in his career in a deal that sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers for Aaron Civale.
"Chicago was my home for the last six years, and I felt like I grew up there," Vaughn said.
"It hit me. It's always a part of this game, it always happens and can happen to anybody. But you never think about yourself without having to."
The specific trade that sent Vaughn out of the organization couldn't have been anticipated for very long, given that it happened within 24 hours of Aaron Civale requesting a trade from the Brewers. In explaining the trade to reporters last Friday, Getz said the White Sox checked in with the Brewers after hearing of Civale's dissatisfaction and conversations progressed from there.
Still, Vaughn said he wasn't anticipating a trade of any kind when the White Sox optioned him to Charlotte.
"My goal was to get it right and come back up as soon as possible and help that team win," Vaughn said.
But that team changed last Friday.
"I got a phone call from Getz informing me I was traded, and then the whirlwind kind of started," Vaughn said. "I had to pack, I had to go get some stuff and then fly home, help my wife pack up and get down here."
Nashville is where he'll be for the time being. The Brewers made room for Vaughn at Triple-A by trading their previous right-handed first baseman, Wes Clarke, to the Astros on Tuesday, and Sounds manager Rick Sweet sounded happy to have him.
"Number one, he came in here excited," Sweet said. "He came in with a smile on his face. He's only been here a couple days, and I'm already overly impressed with what I see, his knowledge in the game. We just had a nice talk a little bit before the workout today and I think this is a good place, a good landing spot for him."
A landing spot is one thing, but the path to upward mobility is another, and this one is murkier. The Brewers have Rhys Hoskins at first base and Christian Yelich serving as the DH on most nights, with Jake Bauers effectively spelling both positions. In fact, there hasn't been much turnover to speak of at any position. Only 17 players have taken a plate appearance for the Brewers this season, as opposed to 27 for the White Sox.
While Civale made his White Sox debut on Sunday, Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters on Friday that Vaughn has to get his bat on track before the trade has major-league ramifications on Milwaukee's side. That jibes with what Vaughn said he was told ("Just get here and play my game"), and as for Murphy leaving open the possibility of Vaughn playing the outfield?
"Whatever gets me in the lineup," Vaughn said.
After the pregame chat Wednesday afternoon, Vaughn went on to hit three grounders in the direction of third base before storms interrupted the game in the sixth. One bounded down the left-field line for an RBI double, and another turned into an inning-ending double play. Some things are different, some things are the same, and now we'll see if the biggest change in Vaughn's career generates more of them.
