A’s LHP Tommy Milone says he wants to be traded

Ken Rosenthal reports that A’s left-hander Tommy Milone wants to be traded.

Milone was demoted to Triple-A after the A’s acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Chicago Cubs. Seemingly he was the odd man out even though he had been pitching very well for Oakland over the last couple months, the A’s chose him for demotion from the big league club. It did come as a surprise to A’s fans.

The A’s more than likely wanted to keep him on a starting rotation schedule in case something didn’t work out and they needed him, which if I were Milone, I would take as a compliment. He didn’t take that way apparently and has expressed his desire to be traded.

Milone has a career 3.84  ERA and this is his third demotion in the last 12 months. I guess you can’t blame the guy for being upset. That said his numbers look good but he’s gotten a lot of no-decisions in games in which he gave up quite a few runs. He’s been inconsistent yet effective so it seems the A’s made a good decision keeping him as a “plan-B.”

Milone will be arbitration eligible after this season and he is under team control for the next three years. He is 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 16 starts for the A’s this season. Milone was acquired by the A’s along with Derek Norris in the trade that sent Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals.

Whether or not Milone’s request will be granted remains to be seen and personally, I don’t forsee the A’s letting Milone go. He’s definitely an asset but you never know what you will happen before or by the trade deadline on July 31.