10:51 am: The deal is official. Atlanta designated first baseman Matt Adams for assignment to clear roster space for Milone, who is in fact set to start tonight’s game for the Braves.
8:26 am: The Braves are nearing a deal to acquire left-hander Tommy Milone from the Orioles, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). Atlanta will send two prospects, neither of whom is in the Braves’ 60-man player pool, to Baltimore, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Because they are outside the player pool, those prospects will be included as players to be named later. Presumably, we won’t know their identities until after the end of the season.
Milone, 33, was surprisingly named Baltimore’s Opening Day starter after latching on with the organization on a minor-league deal over the offseason. That start didn’t go as planned, but he’s quietly performed well in his five starts since. Overall, Milone has a 3.99 ERA in 29.1 innings this season.
The soft-tossing Milone has always been a control artist, and that’s continued in 2020. More importantly, he’s struck out a career-best 24% of hitters in the early going on the back of a career-high 12.5% swinging strike rate. The Braves will place a low-cost bet Milone can mostly maintain that uptick in swing-and-miss while working in his customary 86-87 MPH velocity range. His $1MM base salary was prorated to a little over $370K, of which about $173K remains. Milone will be a free agent at season’s end.
It still seems there’s room for the Braves to explore further rotation acquisitions. Max Fried has been exceptional so far, but the rest of the rotation has been shaky. Despite those starting pitching woes, the Braves are off to an 18-14 start and two games ahead of the pack in the NL East. However, they’re not expected to be involved in the pursuit of Rangers ace Lance Lynn, hears Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).
At 14-18, the Orioles are technically still on the periphery of the AL wild card race. Serviceable start notwithstanding, this was always expected to be a rebuilding year for Baltimore, so it’s hardly surprising to see them flip present assets for future value. Prospects Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer are already on the 40-man roster and are speculative candidates to replace Milone in the starting rotation.
Watch out NL East the Braves got their man.
Ha! yeah we got em!…I dunno that had to try something, can’t keep trotting out what we have been. Plus I was kinda hoping we don’t go crazy on a trade in this short season, seems wasteful unless its a true difference maker with a few years of control. But doesn’t sound like too many of those type pitchers are available
I understand comments like this when the a team picks up a player that is pure, obvious depth, but Milone hasn’t been that bad. I’m not expecting any new stars in the east or anything but statements like this are used to often.
Milone starting an ESPN night game the same day he’s aquired….says enough of the state of our rotation lol sheesh
how’s the hindsight working this particular evening ehhh??…..smh
I wouldn’t know. I figured hindsight is the only way you know how to evaluate a player. If you drafted a team I imagine it would be filled with players the year after their one hit wonder season.
Braves should add another starter. This guy is just to win the east, playoffs they need a lil better. Not the ideal year but you only have so many chances. Just make the playoffs and see what happens. Freeman won’t be great forever, ozuna won’t be this cheap again. Never know what injuries will occur in future years, could be worst then 1 ace. Don’t sell the farm but give yourself a chance.
Is it possible for a small trade to go down without someone coming off with some version this tired old line?
I was about to laugh at this but Milone has actually been solid. It’s good too see him having found his groove again for the first time in half a decade.
Yeah, they’re definitely taking a chance that he’s going to he able to continue his success from this season…Even so, alone has to do is be able to give the Braves better starts than 4IP and 3R, and he will be an improvement..
That’s pretty sad but unfortunately for the Braves right now it is true..
It’s not Ashton Kutcher, It’s Tommy Milone. One is better at baseball than the other.
Tommy Milone will give you five innings and give you a chance to win. Better than Robbie Erlin
Is he really better than Erlin though? Is he THAT much of an upgrade? Milone is pitching ok this year but he’s been pretty bad in recent years, so we better not give up a lot… right now, he fits into the #3 spot assuming Ian Anderson holds the fort down in #2, Erlin #4, Tomlin #5… that’s brutal
having seen Erlin two times recently…yes, he’s got to be better
Milone had a good season for the Mariners in 2019. He’s better than you’re giving him credit for.
A 4.76 ERA is better then the credit he’s recieving? That’s not even averaging a quality start.
Literally they need innings. This guy will help. He’s not a top of the rotation acquisition. No one saying he is. Wait and see what else happens.
Hope those 2.1 IP helped.
Wait… are you saying that in 2020 you shouldn’t be giving up a lot to acquire a #3 starter?
The question isn’t whether he will do better than Erlin, the question is whether he will do better than Tomlin, Wright, Touki, etc. (Hopefully, the answer is “yes.”) I don’t care whether Milone occupies the 3-spot or the 4-spot, just glad to have an MLB-caliber starter to put in A spot.
I wanted the Braves to either go and get a stud, or don’t make a move. Milone’s numbers look fine right now, but his track record says he’s a risk to take a step backward. The Braves already have a full stable of low-end starter options, they don’t need another.
This reads like someone who hasn’t been watching. They need innings. Look up how many pitchers have gone even five this year. They do not currently have that.
moot point now…but but should’ve kept Kuechel instead of signing Hamels. Kuechel has been absolutely dealing with the White Sox…oh well
Keuchel got paid 3x what Hamels did, with a $20M team option that could be a guarantee if he pitches 160 IP in 2021 & 2022, which is a good possibility. He’s good for CHW, but keep in mind that Hamels money is prorated and I’d imagine some of his $6.6M will be paid by insurance.
Of course, no one could have foreseen all that has wrong in this year.
@braveshomer. Come on, that is a total hindsight statement. Did anyone predict Keuchel was going to pitch so we’ll? Because his peripherals from last year certainly didn’t suggest that.
The Braves had to pick up somebody to chew up some innings. The Braves are bullpening to many games. At this rate, they would be the only team that managed to exhaust it’s bullpen in 60 games. I expect they will get one more.
This is really the move I expected them to make. Nobody to close to the top of the market but his on field work is a little better than I thought. His history tells me he won’t continue to work like this but his peripherals are supporting his effort at least this year:
BABIP AGAINST:.322 So he isn’t just getting luck on balls in play.
FIP:3.86 / XFIP 3.97
It may not stick but this tells me he’s legitimate at least this year.
Most anyone’s comments on here are all shoulda, coulda, woulda opinions…aka hindsight 20/20. Just noteworthy how we moved on from a guy who is absolutely dealing right now regardless if its because he’s inducing a lot of ground balls (which is kinda his specialty and won him a world series and a CY young) only to put our eggs in the baskets of Newcomb, Touki, Hamels and the like…no he didn’t pitch great in the few months he was here last year, but I personally liked him and thought his pedigree alone should’ve been kept around….hindsight or not
Keuchel lead the league in hits allowed in 2018 with his H9/9.3 which he almost repeated in 2019 with an H9/9.2 and winning by stranding a lot of base runners. So while you can argue that the Braves should have brought him back based on his present performance, you can’t give a good reason why they should have brought him back during his 2019 free agency.
What a waste…AA has weakened in the knee’s over the years when it comes to going all in. Not a Braves fan, so I’m not invested whatsoever…as a Jay’s fan, always liked that he just balls out and tried to win…NOW!
Highly depends on what teams are asking for at the moment..If you’re talking a handful years of Pache or Langeliers for one year of Lynn, then I’m glad he hasn’t pulled the trigger..
How did that work out? Oh Yeah. It didnt!!!!
I would rather have a consistently winning franchise that has a chance at a world series every year.
This could be a truly depressing move especially if we give up someone good. It’s cheap, but this is pretty much Erlin cept a tad better… let’s be honest. He’s not good
If the prospects aren’t in the 60-man pool, then we know who’s NOT going to Baltimore.
In all honesty, it better be cash and no prospect… I can’t think of a single prospect in the player pool that he’s worth. Maybe cash and a major leaguer that’s struggling like Ender, but we’d have to eat some serious salary I’m sure
Article says two prospects, neither in the pool. RIF.
Just noticed they updated the article. So cool. No one in the player pool which helps you take a little sigh of relief
I guess he’s better than what they have, but no excitement here. This is like the White Sox saying – hey Ross Detwiler, you had a good 2012 and 13 great innings this year, you’re in the rotation! Again – not terrible since they need depth too, but I don’t expect much.
Yeah and hopefully we don’t do that ourselves.
If the Braves get Musgrove and Milone… I’d be happy enough. In this short season, covid riddled, i don’t see putting all the marbles in the basket to win it all. Not like the revenue would even match any trade investment and although I think winning the WS this year out of all years would be impressive, it’s just not the same. Don’t derail the future by trading away top end prospects for these guys, see what we can do with what we got
There’s always a reason not to go for it.
The thing is, not making a move for these types of players is just as much “going for it” than making no move at all. The milones of the world aren’t worth trading away any future unless it’s cash. He just isn’t
The issue is, Braves fans have continually said “don’t mortgage the future for this year” and we’re stuck with mostly bottom tier players that used to be top trade chips.
At some point, you gotta go for it and go all in.
At some point. Right now it’s not that “some point”
Right now isn’t that point. Not just because it doesn’t make financial sense, but the team is more than just a few piece away from being really good. If this was last year, id be all for grabbing a stud and trading away the pieces.. in fact I was. So you’re comment about Braves fans always saying don’t mortgage the future. A part of that’s true some isn’t, but this year isn’t that year
The Braves ultimately need 2 maybe even 3 starters before tomorrow. Milone has never been great obviously but he could be a solid #5. Now let’s see if the Braves can add 2 more starters. Hopefully 1 of which will truly fortify the rotation.
I think there are 5 minor leaguers the Braves are hesitant to give up unless they are getting a guy like Clevinger. Those are Pache, Waters, Anderson (untouchable at this point), Langliers, and Contreras. I think any of those 5 are only dealt in a blockbuster…and bo I don’t think Lynn is that blockbuster.
there aren’t 2 or 3 starters on the market who are big upgrades for them, plus they’re first in their division with what they have already.
I agree in a lot of ways
Would have been nice if Felix hadn’t tapped out because he was scared of COVID.
Maybe get Cobb to and Givens or Davis to,
I don’t like be that grammar guy, but it’s too.
And here I thought he got cut off mid sentence.
“to be”
doobeedoobeeedoooo
Feels like deja but all over again – getting Gausman/O’Day’s terrible contract for Evan Phillips, Bruce Zimmerman, Jean-Carlos Encarnacion, Brett Cumberland + $2.5M int’l bonus slot money — when we should have traded for Bundy.
That’s an excellent observation. And I agree. O’day is nice to have today but I think we would have managed. At the time, a lot of those guys were good prospects for the Braves.. getting Bundy would have been plenty good for both sides. Curious how some of those guys are doing. Encarnacion in particular
Just looked some of them up. Based on the production the Braves got, seems like at worse O’s at least have them some decent trading chips to upgrade any deal.
I admit I liked Encarnacion and wonder if he would have been better staying with us, but we also paid for some of O’Day’s rehab. Like teams still are, they are hoping Gausman will finally put it together consistently, which is what I fear we will be saying with Wright in a couple of years. “Great stuff with flashes of greatness, but no consistency”. Mostly, AA was weeding out some of the less desirable prospects.
No doubt. Would have been better to get Bundy for those guys in retrospect
At this point, nearly anything is an improvement. Not much given up, so if it doesn’t work out, we can put him wherever we put the other ten guys who haven’t pitched well this season. But perhaps it will.
Milone is a bullpen arm for the Braves, right?
Rhetorical question. He should be a bullpen arm for the Braves. I’d bet his stuff would work well out of the pen. He’s not the impact move the Braves need. This is pre-2015 classic Anthopoulos, chasing prayers.
I agree. He’s really not a bullpen arm for us either. We have better options there. Seems at best a #5 starter, but our rotation is so bad that he might legit be our #2-3… hurts when you think about it
Tommy Millone is an innings eating junk baller. That’s not going to be better out of the bullpen. At all.
Umm…you do know lefties who don’t throw hard are banished to the bullpen if they have enough junk and guile on the mound? For you to say that won’t work is basically re-writing baseball history.
The direct point, which you clearly missed, is this move is not the move the Braves needed to make. Curious when the organization thinks it’s time to actually go out and win. Maybe when AA is in his walk year like he did in 2015.
Waiting for Bravesfan88 to write another seven-minute dissertation like he did about the Joe Musgrove rumors.
Lol
It’s easier to just not read and go on about your day than it is to be a jerk about it.
As long as this isn’t the only move, I have no issues with it. If it is, it was a waste because this doesn’t help at all.
Hey Alex, Bartolo is on line #2.
Sure it’s not sexy but didn’t the Braves need to acquire 2 arms this deadline? This is one and now they can go get a Lynn/Sonny Gray/etc. I hope my White Sox can get a SP too
0 chance the Reds are selling, They even said they weren’t.
Remember when NYY sold low on Gray to pitch in a bandbox…then extended him? Yeah, that should have been ATL. Wave to the ship that has sailed. They can’t see you.
Reds aren’t selling and Braves won’t pay the price tag on Lynn. Musgrove and Bundy might be our only shots to adding another arm. Be amazing if they added both with Milone. Suddenly are rotation might have enough juice to finish this season
Our SPs 3-straight games have been Erlin, Tomlin and Ynoa. While Milone looks like he’d be a decent option – we need more.
You need Lynn.
I’m truly stunned. This move will put the Braves over the top. /s
No problem with this trade from a Baltimore POV. Mike has been logical and consistent in his dealings so far. Just wonder what is the return. Two 17-year olds with upside or someone closer?
Considering he only cost $100k this year, then any prospects no matter where in the development stage would be a huge win for the O’s
We got our number 2 starter! Lol I mean I don’t hate the move maybe he will give us some innings to get the bullpen some rest. But I seriously hope there is a move for another starter and I hope hamels can be available for the postseason
However I do feel they could have got walker for less. Walker has some upside too
Pache and Anderson wow good haul
Nightengale is always wrong
This move tells me they have something bigger up their sleeve coming. It’s gonna be a name nobody sees coming.
Much like Milone? Lol
This move tells me there are precious few arms available.
Maybe, but AA likes to find sweet morsels at the bottom of the barrel and maximize their worth.
Maybe the Reds can pick up Adams. Would be a good bench piece who can play 1st when Votto isn’t hitting
Tommy Milone will likely be the Braves #2 starter, though I’m guessing they add another by 4 pm tomorrow. Elias will likely get two teenagers in this deal. His preference due to the O’s doing nothing on the international level before his arrival!
Ian Anderson will be above Tommy Milone in the rotation. He has much better stuff. If the Braves dont add a SP that is actually good, Tommy Milone will be the #3 at least until Hamels comes back. The circumstances are going to be tough for Milone tonight. The Phillies can hit Lefties very well. Plus they just saw Erlin & Tomlin. It can Sometimes be tough to hit a slow fastball when all you see is High Velocity. Pitching 3 guys in a row that throw under 90 will help the opposing Hitters make that adjustment. The Braves are going to have to call up a Starter if they dont pull off a Big Trade.
Milone has an elite change up and plus slider. His fastball is a minus pitch and needs to be ditched for a dormant cutter that he needs to go back to. Baltimore has a history of miscoaching their pitchers.
I don’t hate this. I know he’s not going to front the rotation, but if he can provide 5 quality innings every 5th day, and keep the ERA around 4, that’s completely acceptable for a backend starter. They didn’t even have to burn a prospect from the player pool. Solid deal.
I hope Hamels makes it back because Braves are not set up for the postseason rotation. They have Fried and maybe an unproven Anderson so far.
I assume there will be another pitcher picked up because we need more than one but I’m okay with this. My expectations were set pretty low which affords me to not be dissapointed with this move. =)
His .322 BABIP, 3.86 FIP / 3.97xFIP tells me for at least this year, Milones 3.99 ERA isn’t all smoke and mirrors.
We have one Bona Fide starter and one good prospect. Milone can masquerade as a #4 starter, but we need at least one more playoff-caliber starter. Clevinger or Lynn.
If you can’t trade a player not in the 60-man pool, but you can trade any player as a PTBNL, what’s the point of the rule in the first place?
Just keeps him from joining his new team, which he wasn’t going to do anyway because the minor leagues don’t exist. May as well have just made the rule, if a dude isn’t on the 60-man, you can trade him, but he can’t play for his new organization this year.
Thanks, AA for proving me wrong when I said this team does not care about winning.
Here’s hoping that AA has pulled off another surprise gem. Wait and see who he gave up. FA at the end of the year so it shouldn’t be much.
His FIP, xFIP & SIERRA are all less than his ERA this year. His BABIP is .322 this year & on his Career it’s only a .294. His Expected stats are in line with his Stats. His wOBA & his xwOBA are the same. His xBA & xSLG are basically the same as his real Opposing BA & SLG. Maybe Slightly better. His xERA is Higher than his ERA though. His xERA of 4.14 is still in the 55th Percentile according to Baseball Savant.
As you can see a lot of the stats indicate he should maintain his performance..or that at the very least The Numbers are a good description of what he has been doing so far. If His ERA can stay between 3.90 & 4.30 that would definitely be good for us.
He wasn’t very good in the past, But we don’t need him on the 2021 Braves or the 2019 Braves. We just need him to be good for the rest of the year. He is on a 1 year deal & on a CHEAP Contract. He shouldn’t have landed a good return for Baltimore. So if He Doesnt work out, The Sunk cost will be Very small.
He can provide 5 quality Innings. His ERA through the first 5 Innings is a 3.33 this year. His ERA is also a 3.42 the first 2 times through the order. His ERA is 11.57 in the 6th Inning. His ERA is also 6.35 the 3rd time through the order. So Ideally, You want to get him out of the game by the time you get there.
It seems like Milone has been around forever.
Milone is fitting right in.
I know it’s just one game, but hopefully this will encourage AA to get serious.
Tommy Milone? Well, that went well!
Braves have been snake bitten by injuries this year. Gotta hope Acuna’s hammie isn’t the type that keeps him on the shelf for a week. Initial comments suggest that won’t be the case.
Gonna have to trade one of Patche or Watters and get a big time SP. Even if they make the playoffs, the SP after Fried ain’t gonna cut it. Ya gotta be at minimum two-studs-deep in the rotation to go anywhere in the post-season.