Demoted Milone seeks trade
Tommy Milone was sent down last year, and 0then again this month — this time, despite being 6-0 with an ERA of 2.62 over his past 11 starts for Oakland.
Milone has handled setbacks in stride, he’s viewed as a team player and is remarkably even- keel, but sources confirmed Ken Rosenthal’s report for Fox Sports that Milone requested a trade after his most recent demotion.
“I don’t have any comments on the issue at this time,” Milone said via text. “Any talks about my future with the A’s are between the club, my representatives and myself.”
Milone’s agent, Barry Praver, was unavailable for comment. Members of the A’s front office did not respond to a request for comment.
Milone has no leverage to press for a trade and the A’s, like most teams, operate based on what makes the most business sense. When Oakland acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Cubs, in part the deal was made to provide starting pitching depth.
The A’s wanted better options at Triple-A Sacramento, and that duty falls to Milone and to Drew Pomeranz, also demoted after coming off the disabled list. Pomeranz had just one poor start before breaking his non-pitching hand, going on the DL and then landing in Sacramento. In addition, Oakland is looking for second baseman, and Pomeranz and Milone both could be targets for potential trade partners.