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Tommy Milone

Blue Jays, Tommy Milone Agree To Minors Deal

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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.

Braves, Orioles Complete Tommy Milone Trade

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The Braves acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from the Orioles for two players to be named later prior to the Aug. 31 deadline. A little over two months after the fact, those players’ identities are now known. The Orioles are getting infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen, per an announcement from the Braves.

AJ Graffanino, the son of former major league infielder Tony Graffanino, joined the Braves as an eighth-round pick in 2018. He has since ascended to Single-A ball, where he slashed .301/.333/.378 in 153 plate appearances during his draft year. MLB.com ranked the 23-year-old as the Braves’ No. 23 prospect before the trade, writing that “he has very good hands and a strong arm suited for shortstop.” However, with just one professional home run so far, it’s unclear how much of an offensive impact Graffanino will make in the majors.

Cullen entered the pros in the same draft class as Graffanino as a 15th-round pick. He was not a high-ranked Braves prospect, but Cullen, also 23, did slash .270/.393/.401 (138 wRC+) with nine homers in 568 PA in Single-A ball in 2019.

However these prospects turn out, the Milone acquisition didn’t go as planned for the Braves. The soft-tossing veteran posted a disastrous 14.90 ERA in 9 2/3 innings with Atlanta. Between the two teams, the now-free agent logged a 6.69 ERA/4.76 FIP over 39 frames in 2020, though he did record excellent strikeout and walk numbers (9.23 K/9, 1.38 BB/9).

Braves Place Tommy Milone On IL, Outright Charlie Culberson

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The Braves have placed southpaw Tommy Milone on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and outrighted infielder/outfielder Charlie Culberson to their alternate training site, per a team announcement. They recalled righty Huascar Ynoa to take Milone’s roster spot.

Owing largely to the injuries that have sidelined Mike Soroka and Cole Hamels for extended periods, the Braves entered the Aug. 31 trade deadline looking like a team in need of starting help. The well-traveled, soft-tossing Milone was their only acquisition in that area, though he did join the Braves after a good season-opening run in Baltimore. Milone posted a 3.99 ERA/3.89 FIP and 9.5 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings as an Oriole, but his Braves tenure hasn’t gone nearly as well. While Milone has fanned nine hitters and walked two in 9 2/3 frames since the trade, opposing hitters have teed off on him for 16 earned runs on 22 hits.

Now, with so little time left in the season, it’s unclear whether Milone’s elbow will heal quickly enough for him to return. He’s now the fourth Braves starting option on the IL, joining Soroka, Hamels and Cy Young contender Max Fried. The Braves still hold a two-game lead in the NL East in spite of their injuries, but their rotation looks dangerously thin at the moment. Fortunately for them, Hamels and Fried may not miss much more time.

Culberson was a fairly regular member of the Braves’ lineup from 2018-19, in which he accumulated 466 plate appearances and batted a respectable .267/.316/.457 with 17 home runs. He also lined up at several positions then and has played at multiple spots this year, though he hasn’t accrued many at-bats in 2020. Before the Braves designated Culberson for assignment Tuesday, he went 1-for-7 with four strikeouts.

Braves Acquire Tommy Milone

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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.

Injury Notes: Rendon, Altuve, Hamels, Cubs, Orioles

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The Angels aren’t sure whether third baseman and top winter acquisition Anthony Rendon will be ready when they open their season Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com relays. Rendon, a former Nationals star whom the Angels signed to a seven-year, $245MM contract in free agency, has been dealing with oblique soreness since last week. If he’s not able to take the field in a few days, the Angels are expected to use David Fletcher and Matt Thaiss at the hot corner, per Bollinger. The Angels’ infield could also be missing Luis Rengifo, who Bollinger writes stands a “strong chance” of sitting out the opener on account of hamstring soreness.

  • Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left the team’s preseason game against the Royals on Tuesday with a left leg contusion, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. There’s now some question as to whether the former MVP will be healthy enough to go when the Astros’ season starts. “We’re hopeful he’ll be ready on Friday,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We’ll analyze him tomorrow and see where he is in the morning. Usually the day after that, you’re pretty sore.”
  • “It’s going to be a while” before left-hander Cole Hamels debuts in 2020, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Tuesday (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Hamels dealt with shoulder inflammation during spring training and has recently battled triceps tendinitis, thereby preventing him from facing live hitters over the past several months. Considering how short this season will be, the Braves may have trouble getting much bang for their buck out of Hamels. They inked the longtime workhorse to a one-year, $18MM contract over the winter. That guarantee turned into approximately a prorated $7MM when the season went from 162 games to 60.
  • Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been fighting rib and back issues, seems to be progressing. Manager David Ross said Tuesday (via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com) that it “looks like all thumbs up from today” in regards to Rizzo. He’s slated to start the team’s exhibition game against Minnesota on Wednesday. Meanwhile, southpaw  Jose Quintana – who underwent surgery on his left thumb three weeks ago – issued an encouraging update on his status (per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune), saying he’s not feeling any pain. It remains unclear when he’ll be able to take the mound this season, though.
  • Orioles left-hander John Means will miss Opening Day because of arm fatigue, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets. As a result, offseason minor league signing and fellow southpaw Tommy Milone will start the Orioles’ opener against Boston on Friday. It’s not known when Means will be able to debut in 2020, but the Orioles are surely hoping it will be sooner than later. The 27-year-old Means was one of the few bright spots on Baltimore’s talent-deprived roster last season, after all, as he logged a 3.60 ERA/4.41 FIP with 7.03 K/9 and 2.21 BB/9 across 155 innings.

Orioles Select Wade LeBlanc, Tommy Milone

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The Orioles announced that they have selected the contracts of veteran left-handers Wade LeBlanc and Tommy Milone. Those additions give the Orioles 39 players on their 40-man rosters.

The 35-year-old LeBlanc and Milone, 33, signed minor league contracts with the pitcher-needy Orioles over the winter after spending last season with the Mariners. They’ll open 2020 in Baltimore’s rotation, Joe Trezza of MLB.com suggests.

LeBlanc has been a capable swingman for most of his career, which began in 2008 in San Diego. He was effective in Seattle as recently as 2018 (3.72 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.22 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9 in 162 innings), but the wheels came off last year. LeBlanc could only manage 121 1/3 innings of 5.71 ERA/5.49 FIP pitching with 6.82 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 2019.

Milone has five seasons of at least 100 innings under his belt, even though the overall results haven’t been great. He piled up 111 2/3 a year ago and notched a 4.76 ERA/5.00 FIP, though he did post an impressive K/BB ratio with 7.58 K/9 and 1.85 BB/9.

AL East Notes: Kratz, Dolis, Orioles, Nunez

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“The goal this year is to win a gold medal and win a World Series. That would be a pretty good year, right?” Erik Kratz rhetorically asked The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd (subscription required), as the veteran catcher is hoping to achieve what could be an unprecedented double in professional and Olympic baseball.  Kratz was a member of the United States national baseball team’s roster last November, acting as both a player and an experienced mentor to a roster comprised mostly of minor leaguers and some of the sport’s top prospects (including Jo Adell, Andrew Vaughn, Alec Bohm and more).  The U.S. team will participate in an Olympic qualifying tournament later this month, and while the roster has yet to be announced, Kratz would seem like a solid bet based on his performance last November.

If potentially participating in the Tokyo Games wasn’t enough, there is also Kratz’s role as a depth catcher for the Yankees, as the 39-year-old signed a minor league deal with New York during the offseason.  Kratz is entering his 19th year of pro ball and is hopeful of getting some playing time at the MLB level, which would give him appearances in parts of 11 different Major League seasons.  It might also get him a World Series ring, given how the Yankees are expected to contend for a title in 2020.  A championship would be a nice milestone in Kratz’s career, though the journeyman plans to keep playing for as long as possible.  “I know I appreciate every day.  I’ve felt like it could be my last season for the last 12 seasons,” Kratz said.

More from around the AL East…

  • Blue Jays right-hander Rafael Dolis will miss at least a week of action after having his appendix removed (MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson was among those to report the news).  Dolis will be re-evaluated after that first week, and it is possible the righty might not be ready for Opening Day.  After last pitching in the majors in 2013, Dolis revived his career with four impressive seasons in Japan, and signed a one-year, Major League contract with Toronto this winter.
  • Orioles manager Brandon Hyde updated reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) on a few injury situations in camp.  Jose Iglesias and Ramon Urias are both day-to-day with a quad injury and shin splits, respectively.  Tommy Milone has a trap injury, with Hyde hoping that Milone can throw a side session within the next day or two.  Righty Evan Phillips has been dealing with some soreness in his throwing elbow and underwent an MRI that “came back as nothing serious,” Hyde said, though Phillips is getting a second opinion today out of due diligence.
  • In another piece from Kubatko, he notes that Renato Nunez has been diligently working out at third base this spring.  Nunez was mostly restricted to DH duties in 2019, though it should be noted that some metrics give Nunez average (0 Defensive Runs Saved) to very good (+9.5 UZR/150) grades over his 606 2/3 career innings as a third baseman.  The Orioles don’t need Nunez to wield a Brooks Robinson-esque glove at the hot corner, however, as Nunez would only be deployed as a platoon partner with Rio Ruiz.  That would create more DH at-bats for other members of the Baltimore roster, including potentially top prospect Ryan Mountcastle.  Kubatko also observes that Nunez would gain more value to the Orioles as a potential trade chip if he shows that he handle a regular defensive position.

Orioles To Sign Tommy Milone

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The Orioles have agreed to a minor league deal and invitation to Major League Spring Training with veteran left-hander Tommy Milone, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (via Twitter). Milone, a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management, will presumably join the competition to secure a spot in a paper-thin Baltimore rotation.

Milone, who’ll turn 33 this Sunday, spent the 2019 season with the Mariners, for whom he soaked up 111 2/3 innings while compiling a 4.76 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 36.7 percent ground-ball rate. Long known to be a fly-ball pitcher, Milone struggled to keep the ball in the yard — as did a great many pitchers — averaging 1.85 long balls per nine innings pitched. His excellent control helped to minimize the damage of those home runs, but dropping a pitcher with a career 1.49 HR/9 mark into the American League East could prove problematic even if Milone does end up as a starter for the O’s.

That said, Milone has been a generally durable source of innings, although his year-to-year totals in the Majors don’t reflect that trait due to his considerable time in the minors in recent seasons. Milone has missed small batches of time due to elbow, biceps and shoulder troubles, but the only time he’s missed even a month on the injured list came as a result of a knee injury with the Mets back in 2017.

In total, Milone has pitched to a career 4.47 ERA in 874 2/3 innings split between the Nationals, Athletics, Twins, Mets, Mariners and Brewers. Along the way, the soft-tossing southpaw has averaged 6.7 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine innings pitched. He’s the same type of control-over-stuff lefty that the Orioles recently added in Wade LeBlanc, albeit one who is a few years younger and coming off a superior showing in 2019.

The Orioles’ rotation currently consists of John Means, Alex Cobb and Asher Wojciechowski, which should give Milone ample opportunity to seize a spot if he impresses during Spring Training.

Mariners Place Dee Gordon, Ryon Healy On 10-Day IL

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The Mariners announced a lengthy list of roster moves today. Infielders Dee Gordon (right wrist contusion) and Ryon Healy (lower back inflammation) were placed on the 10-day injured list, while righty Parker Markel was optioned out.

Those departures cleared the way for a trio of additions. As already reported, lefty Tommy Milone was added to the 40-man and active rosters. He’ll be joined in the bigs by infielders Shed Long and Dylan Moore.

It doesn’t seem there’s much reason to fear lengthy absences from Gordon or Healy, though details aren’t yet known. Gordon has struggled since being hit by a pitch recently. Healy left last night’s contest with a back flare-up.

Mariners To Select Tommy Milone

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4:37pm: Milone will indeed step onto the roster to take the start, manager Scott Servais tells Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).

4:24pm: The Mariners need a starter in what would’ve been righty Erik Swanson’s spot — Swanson was optioned to Triple-A last Friday — and MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that southpaw Tommy Milone is with the big league club right now. There’s been no formal announcement from the team, but Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweeted today that “all indications” suggested that Milone would start for the Mariners tomorrow. Seattle would need to formally select Milone’s contract and add him to the 40-man roster, which seems quite likely at this point.

Milone, 32, opened the season with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma and has pitched to a 3.83 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.28 HR/9 and a 37.7 percent ground-ball rate. Mariners fans would likely prefer to see the upside of top prospect Justus Sheffield rather than the veteran Milone, but manager Scott Servais told Johns and others recently that the team’s preference moving forward is to promote Sheffield only when he’s deemed ready for a long-term audition. It still seems quite likely that’ll come at some point this season, but Sheffield has pitched just 18 2/3 innings with a 4.82 ERA and a 21-to-14 K/BB ratio over his past four starts; it’s not as if he’s kicked in the door to the big leagues with his recent work.

Milone will join Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Wade LeBlanc and Mike Leake in the team’s starting five for now, though the length of his stay will surely be tied to his performance. Seattle does have alternatives in the upper minors, and GM Jerry Dipoto is never shy about adding options from outside the organization.

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