The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent left-hander Tommy Milone, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Milone has garnered a significant amount of big league experience with several teams since he first came into MLB in 2011 as a National. Although he has only averaged 87 mph-plus on his fastball, Milone has hung around to make 183 appearances (145 starts) and total 913 2/3 innings of 4.56 ERA/4.28 pitching.
The 34-year-old divided last season between the Orioles and Braves, and though he put up some of the finest strikeout and walk percentages of his career (22.1 and 3.3, respectively), opposing offenses victimized him. Milone ultimately surrendered 29 earned runs and 55 hits (including nine homers) across 39 innings. That amounted to an unsightly 6.69 ERA, though Milone did notch a much more respectable 4.12 SIERA.
All nine of Milone’s appearances last year came as a starter, and he could now at least push for a depth role in Toronto’s rotation. The team’s slated to enter the season with Nate Pearson, Robbie Ray, Tanner Roark and Steven Matz complementing Hyun Jin Ryu in its starting five.
There’s our 200 innings man right there
200 innings? Didn’t realize it was a 3-year deal.
I gotta go back and re-read things more closely.
Pretty sure if it was a infinite contract still not making the 200 innings it was a joke my guy
I still cannot believe the Orioles bilked Greg Cullen and AJ Graffanino out of the Braves for what turned out to be a terrible Tommy Milone.
Who now? And what are the Orioles? A cheerleading squad?
lol
Okay… sure
Wow, forgot about him.
He’s so far gone he doesn’t even get a link.
Blast from the past right there!
Opening day starter?
Sad to see him go. He helped the Braves so much. AA is such a great GM.
AA has been a great GM. One low cost bad move doesn’t even move the needle.
and to be fair it couldn’t have possibly gone worse. if anyone expected it to be that bad then they must’ve been psychic?
Desperate men do desperate things, and AA was desperate for starting pitching last season. I hated the move, but they were literally down to 1 healthy starter at a point. What do you do?
I’m just glad he’s gone. I’m not going to hold it against AA as if he gave Milone a 5yr FA deal, though.
AA has been linked to Milone since Milone was in Oakland and AA in Toronto. Milone’s 6 starts in Baltimore gave him an excuse. This was a long time coming.
Heard he was planning to go by Thomas Milone for superstitious reasons.
Wait seriously?
It was either that or Tommy Miltwo.
Jays are banking on him pitching like he did for 6 starts with Baltimore before being shipped to Atlanta. Could also mean him and Liriano are competing for the 2nd bullpen lefty/final bullpen spot.
Dunedin’s Finest looking like the 3rd best team in the AL East. Without acquiring Luis Castillo(Jays have the pieces) and signing a starter like Jake Odorizzi, they are looking like the 3rd best team in Florida in 2021. I was looking forward to a competitive AL East this season. Smh
I wouldn’t be so quick to the front of the line for World Series tickets. After Cole the Yankees rotation relies heavily on “If’s” with Kluber, Taillon, German and eventually Severino. But also in the lineup with Judge, Hicks, and Stanton. The Jays pitching staff is no worse than the Yankees
“The Jays pitching staff is no worse than the Yankees”
There is the laugh of the year right there.
I’d take the Yankee staff over the Jays staff right now. Take dollars out of the equation, Yanks SP is deeper.
If Stanton can stay healthy. Tallion there is plenty to be hopefully about. He could be a comeback player of the year candidate this year. I am going to miss that young man.
@Rsox- the Yankees really just need for Kluber or Taillon to win 15 games to win the AL East. Don’t forget about Jordan Montgomery, Deivi Garcia, and Clarke Schmidt either. I feel the Yankees will run off with the AL East this season. The only threat I see in the American League are the White Sox. The Dodgers, Braves and Padres are definitely the top 3 teams in the National League. As far as the Yankees they really just have to stay injury free. And that is a big if.
id take the under there. 15 wins isn’t light work by any means and there is nk guarantee either plays a full season. if getting 15 from one of them is what they need then they better be ready to pack it in.
@DarkSide830- well don’t forget, Luis Severino is coming back probably by early to mid July. If he is even a fraction of what he was the Yankees should easily win the division. If the Blue Jays trade for Luis Castillo and sign Jake Odorizzi then they can definitely make the AL East a lot more interesting. I would say that would make them a wild card team for sure and give the Yankees a good run for the division
Yea even tho the Yankees staff could fall apart injury wise they still have a much high floor then the jays. For the jays staff to be better it has to be more if a best case scenario situation, with Pearson and Ryu pitching 120+ innings with sub 3.50 Era. One of Roark, Matz, Thornton and Ray need pretty close to career year to. I think they have a trade in mind but the acquisition cost is too high so there going to wait for ST
Yank4Life, let’s not forget the Jays finished only 1 game back of the Yanks last year! Knowing NYY’s luck with injuries over the 162 game stretch, the AL East is far from decided my friend.
@Puggy- I hear you. The Blue Jays played really well last season. But let’s not forget it was a 60 game season. It’s 162 games this season(full season) let’s see what happens. Jays got an excellent offense. Buts it’s time to at least sign Jake Odorizzi, my friend. And your right I’’m always worried about all the Yankee injuries which I expect every year.
I love how everyone commented precisely what I been trying to tell @yanks4life for weeks now.
Also you are aware Dunedin is a low a-ball affiliate of the blue jays? So when you refer to us as Dunedin are you saying we are a low a-ball florida state league club?
they arent playing in Canada at least until May.
@Rowdy’s Telles- no the Blue Jays will be playing in Dunedin instead of Buffalo this season. I thought you knew that. I would say the Jays won’t be playing in Canada this season. But maybe in 2022 they’ll be back playing in Toronto.
Tough to criticize teams for moves they didn’t make. Who knows what the Reds want for Castillo… or what Odo wants for a contract. Obviously no other teams feel like either of those prices were worth paying.
Jays have a lot of young depth at AAA. Signing multi year deals for mid rotation or back end starters when they might not be much better than your young pre-arb AAA pitchers isn’t a great use of money. The only FA pitcher that was an obvious upgrade was Bauer… and that wasn’t ever happening for the Jays.
Darvish was traded pretty cheaply. Jays could have beat that deal but not sure what the Cubs would have wanted. Paxton has the upside the rotation needs… but serious problems staying healthy.
I dunno. Starting pitching options were pretty slim for them…. so they spent almost $200 million improving their offense and bullpen? ♂️
@Dexxter I believe the Reds are seeking a package of first born sons for Castillo, why do you think Taillon is a Yankee?
Sometimes i curse mlbtr for not having down vote options for idiot comments
Tommy can you hear me?
We traded a top 30 prospect (organizational) for him. I mean seriously, in retrospect, what a horrible overpay for him! He was terrible for us. I’d rather package that prospects for someone better in any other deal. Like a bucket of balls would have been more valuable because he gave up bombs right and left.. he was soooooo bad… he is bad… an entire rotation running on fumes and AA goes to get this guy and ONLY this guy. Healthy reminder that for every decent move AA makes, he makes/doesn’t make 4 terrible moves like this
I hated the Milone trade too, but I thought I understood it as just taking on someone to eat innings at the back of the rotation. Baltimore had the leverage, having an available arm.
My gripe with the whole process was AA stopped there. That, to me, is where he failed. I judge him more poorly for that than what he gave up for Milone.
Shat Signin’ Shatkins at it again
In 3 starts for the Braves in 2020 Tommy Milone gave up 16 ER and 22 hits in 9 2/3 IP. He was better for the O’s (earlier) which is like being a better person then O.J. Simpson. Milone had a 31/4 K/BB in 29 IP and 6 GS for the O’s. He’s the absolute definition of mediocrity with a 51-51 lifetime record with a 4.56/1.33 ERA/WHIP, 688/218 K/BB, and 994 HA in 914 IP. So yes, let’s say he’s worse than mediocre. And I’d be as surprised as anyone if Milone has any fantasy relevance in 2021.
Nine different MLB teams thought he was worth having on their squad. Not sure why.
They were trying to help him pass Octavio Dotel for some strange reason.
Trying to remember a Blue Jays staff that was worse than this one 2 through 5.
I honestly can’t think of one, but my memory of Blue Jay staffs only go back to the early 80’s.
Ok Pearson has “promise” but he really underwhelmed me last season. He looks to be more hype than reality, the rest is a group of pitchers that last place teams try out for their 4 and 5 slots.
That is a accurate review of the Jays rotation. It’s gonna be a long season for the Jays and longer for the fans, lol.
2002 Blue Jays. Roy Halliday and 4 stat holidays.
Jays only go back to 1977, so your memory goes almost all the way back anyhow. Makes me think of those aluminum benches in the bleachers along the RF foul line at old Exhibition Stadium… so uncomfortable, but good times anyhow
I mean the 2011 Jays rotation was pretty bad
Good point Bross. Just realized autocorrect butchered my spelling of Halladay.
Wow lol we have 5 starters with mlb experience, we have gone into seasons with guys who never started a game and very little potential in our rotation lol I mean I get we didnt sign another pitcher but come on….SMH it’s crazy lol
I’m starting to think this SIERA thing isn’t very informative.
Just like most of the advanced metrics used by people that can’t evaluate talent otherwise.
You misspelled ERA. SIERA is a much better predictor of future ERA than ERA itself is.
something about reinventing the wheel…
Wait…if ERA isn’t valuable or a good predictor, why are we trying to predict it?
I don’t think it’s very good for really bad pitchers who are easy to hit. If I pitched in the majors my SIERA would suggest I had a breakout coming because the .800 BABIP, .10% LOB, and 75% HR/FB would just be attributed to bad luck. I think the model has to have some parameters about what the range of major league pitchers is and sometimes guys fall outside those parameters.
Asinine Assemblin’ Atkins
Sloppy Signin’ Shapiro
Haha I’m a Jays fan I just love the GM rips
Left handedness is a gift that keeps giving.
Why? lmao
somebody’s gotta take innings in Buffalo.
Not Buffalo. Taxi squad is part of the year and you want your young guys who missed out on development opportunities getting game reps in the minors this year. I suspect most teams are going to be filling their taxi squads with veterans on minor league deals.
Am I the only one who remembers Tommy Milone as a first baseman?? Was he at one time a first baseman, or am I losing touch of reality?
Mandela Effect??
Maybe you’re thinking of Sean Doolittle? He was a former Oakland Athletics lefty pitcher in the early/mid 2010’s who was originally drafted as a 1B.
no
2021 version of Thomas Pannone. How did that work out?
Don’t laugh. The Orioles flipped him to the Braves at the deadline last year.
was kinda hoping that the giants got him on a minor league so he would be on the same staff as kazmir
Wow, the Jays really should have done more to improve their starting pitching. Ryu is great; but the rest are all wildcards. Pearson has the talent to be great as well but based on what we saw last year, he still has a long way to go. The remaining 3 are at best #4 or #5 starters. They really need to sign Odorizzi if they expect to compete for a wild card spot and even if they do that, it’s 50/50 at best they’ll make it there based on their rotation. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Red Sox rotation will have better total stats than Toronto this year, and their rotation has Martin Perez & Nick Pivetta in it! It’s too bad because the Blue Jays have a great offense and a decent bullpen too. They should have paid Bauer this offseason, or at least traded for Lance Lynn and Taillon. Kiss another year goodbye for their talented core; the pitching will be their undoing.
I highly doubt he ever makes an appearance unless 2 or 3 starters go down. He’s just a “break glass in case of emergency” depth.
“ Wow, the Jays really should have done more to improve their starting pitching.”
Way to go out on a limb. You say this after you injected yourself into a debate where you basically sided with someone pumping up the Jays front offices’ handling of the pitching. Yet now you realize the Jays haven’t addressed pitching?
Yeah, you’re welcome.
You really didn’t make much of a point, so the dramatic “Yeah, you’re welcome” was not necessary.
Neither is your input or racism Marty, but we tolerate it.
Back end pitcher on mediocre (or worse) teams. Baseball has been good to Mr Millone.
Pirates are overrated
Damn, I wish.
Terrible signing
Wtf! I thought there was no such thing as a bad minor league signing?
Exactly right., The troll(s) who are now ignored on the Sportsnet board have migrated here. If we ignore him/them, he/they’ll move off elsewhere eventually.
Second coming of Thomas Pannone? Or picking over AA’s leftovers in yet another dumpster dive by Ross?
I’ll always have a soft spot for Tommy. His numbers in the minors were ridiculous and we all thought he was going to be the next Jaime Moyer haha. We had to hold on to any hope back in the dark ages of the Nats
@Nats Town – yeah – his three run homer off the first pitch he faced on debut is a cool story. Have fond memories oh him with the A’s….
He could still be the next Jamie Moyer, all he has to do is somehow find a way to pitch till he’s 49. Only 16 more years left to go!
For real everyone thinks this rotation is trash, but its not. Ryu is gonna be an ace. Pearson just needs to stay healthy to be a solid #2. Roark has been a 2 WAR/year pitcher his entire career, last year was a fluke just like many stars had. Ray will give us 10 cy young starts and 10 “how is this guy in the majors” starts but so be it. And Matz just needs a couple tweaks to go back to the player he was when he made the majors.
Lets not forget we have Thornton who led the team in innings as a rookie in 2019 and can only improve. Plus with Hatch, Kay, and Merryweather, 3 guys who look ready to break out. And oh ya, SWR and Manoah may be late season studs.
The East is wide open, even with a healthy Yankees team. Look out.
Your description basically says what people believe; Jays staff has holes and if Pearson doesn’t breakout then the staff is in-trouble.
Where would you rank the pitching staff compared to the division? The AL? The league?
Let’s also not forget Thornton is slated to be in AAA. He can’t win games for the Jays wearing a Bisons uniform. It’s nice you are optimistic over the Jays rotation but where they rank amongst the league at this time might give us a better indication on how good they are.
Wake, you sure are optimistic about the Jays rotation. May I give you a realistic view?
Ryu-ace
Pearson – can’t pitch yet, still a thrower. Learning year.
Roark-he is done as a quality MLB pitcher.
Thornton – #4 starter and never better.
Ray-doesn’t know where the ball is going out of his hand. #4 starter.
Merryweather-lousy opener or elite setup guy. Not a starter.
Kay- reliever not starter.
Hatch – still learning to pitch in the bigs. Solid #3 starter one day.
Matz- accident waiting to happen. He stinks. Terrible trade.
Stripling-not a starter on a championship level team unless it is an emergency.
I figure that the Jays rotation will be in trouble by mid season because very few of these guys can get through more that one turn of the battling order. That means the (good) bullpen is overworked early in the season and burns out quickly.
Id say 2nd or 3rd in the division. BAL is crap, BOS has more question marks than we do, and TB is throwing more risk than we are with Archer and Hill. Thats my point of mentioning Thornton, Hatch, Merryweather, Kay, and even Zeuch. Our AAA rotation in my opinion as at least 2 average to above average major league starters. If anything happens to the proposed starting 5 we are covered and might even improve.
The Yankees aren’t a sure thing either. After Cole they are hoping on Kluber to return to form, Taillon to find his form, Montgomery to offer reliable innings and a rookie to step up. Not much more of a guarantee then we have. Yes the ceiling is higher, but our offense had alot less holes or questions marks then NYY as well. I still see NYY winning the division, but itll be a battle and i feel our rotation will be stronger at the end of the season then theirs.
Yankees starting rotation is stronger than the Jays rotation no matter how much you feel. Also, none of the starters in AAA for the Jays can be counted on. Merryweather gets hurt every year yet the Jays are adamant in him starting. Add to the fact Thornton is on the outside despite Matz and Roark sucking consistently tells me the brain trust are watching another game.
Your optimism is nice and I respect it. But in reality the staff is shaky and anything better than low expectations is a pleasant surprise. Pearson is the guy to save the Jays season with an emergence like no other.
Why?!
Don’t know much about Milone, but 87mph isn’t really a fastball anymore. Not to say he can’t be effective, if he can pitch like Berhle did, give you 200 + innings and you can win if you can make the ball dance.
Still thinking though if the Jays wanted a decent left hander they could have picked up Happ. He was cheap enough , knows the club and still put up decent numbers.
As for where the Jays are going to play out the season from everything I’ve read they are playing at least the first two home stands in Dunedin, which means they are still looking at returning to Buffalo or hoping the Ontario lifts the restrictions on playing in Toronto.
Lets face it opening season is end of March and Buffalo would likely be under snow still.