There is a solution for this problem: I use a monolith that make 100% of my sql queries using LINQ (including massive updates and so). Since Linq is strongly typed you can rename/remove/split tables and columns, fix compilation issues, create a migration and deploy the new monolith. We create an average of 5 migrations per day in a project with around 300 table for 2 years and no signs of an unmantainable mud so far.

Disclaimer: I'm the main developer behind Signum Framework