Tommy Milone won’t have to wait long to make his debut for the Atlanta Braves. GM Alex Anthopoulos confirmed Sunday afternoon that Milone is in Philadelphia with the team and will start Sunday’s series finale against the Phillies. Huascar Ynoa had previously been announced as the starter for Sunday’s game but the Braves will waste no time throwing Milone into the mix.
“He’s throwing the ball really well right now,” Anthopoulos said of Milone. “We feel like we will be a good spot for him.”
Milone was with the Orioles in Buffalo where they were playing Toronto. The Braves flew him to Philadelphia on a charter flight to expedite his availability. Anthopoulos said that the deal with Baltimore came together late Saturday night and that the two teams had been discussing a deal involving Milone as far as back as right after Mike Soroka’s injury.
“We have actually been talking to the Orioles about him for a while,” Anthopoulos said. “I guess the first conversation was right after Soroka got hurt. We have stayed in contact with them. We were finally able to line up on a deal last night.”
As far as the trade market goes, Anthopoulos said that there are not a lot of sellers. Still, the Braves are still looking for ways to improve the club and are still in the market for both starting pitching and bench depth.
“We are still trying to make the club better,” Anthopoulos said. “I don’t know what is going to happen between now and tomorrow afternoon.”
Cole Hamels progressing
Anthopoulos also provided an update on injured starter Cole Hamels who was scheduled to throw his second bullpen session Sunday and added that both Hamels and the Braves feel like he has turned a corner and is progressing towards a return. There is still no timetable but the club will soon have to decide whether to have him get stretched out at the alternate site or activate him and allow him to build up in MLB games.