KEVIN MCALPIN
680 THE FAN, ATLANTA – With the Major League trade deadline looming at 4pm on Monday, everyone knows the Braves are looking for starting rotation help. As conversations start to heat up around the game, Alex Anthopoulos and company pulled off a deal to acquire veteran southpaw Tommy Milone from the Orioles in exchange for two minor league players to be named later. The 33 year old lefty has posted a 3.99 ERA in six starts with Baltimore this season and over ten Big League seasons, has compiled a 51-51 record with a 4.45 lifetime ERA in 180 career games. Originally a tenth round pick of the Nationals in the 2008 Draft, Milone has also spent time with the A’s, Twins, Brewers, Mets and Mariners. Over those six outings this season, Milone has struck out 31 batters and walked just four. That 1.23 BB/9 ratio is the fifth best among pitchers with at least 29 innings pitched on the season.
To make room on the roster for Milone, the club designated Matt Adams for assignment. Adams, who returned to the Braves after being released by the Mets, struggled in 16 games with Atlanta this season. In 51 trips to the plate, Adams hit just .184 with two doubles, a pair of homers and a .563 OPS. Obviously, the club hopes that he gets through unclaimed and can remain with the organization moving forward.
The move to acquire Milone doesn’t feel like the last the club will make with the deadline on Monday at 4pm ET. This seems like a precursor to an even bigger move down the road, that could add another veteran piece to the depleted pitching staff and also possibly boost the offense as well if it was part of a bigger deal. This deadline will be unlike any we’ve seen in the past, with teams having to balance the short term benefit to adding players that can make an immediate impact against what those longer term financial ramifications will hold with so many teams taking such significant losses when it comes to their finances, playing in empty ballparks. But to follow-up, while the Milone move is the first the team is making, I don’t expect it to be their last.
Kevin McAlpin has covered the Braves since 2012 for @680TheFan and the @BravesRadioNet.
