Anthopoulos and Snitker on the Tommy Milone trade

Alex Anthopoulos discussed his trade with Baltimore that gives the Braves a new starting pitcher

The Braves have had their antennas out for the entire season, especially after the Mike Soroka injury, looking for additional starting pitching. Sunday morning, they got one, acquiring Baltimore left-hander Tommy Milone for two players to be named later.

“We’ve actually have been talking to the Orioles about him for a while,” said Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “The first conversation was right after Soroka got hurt. We stayed in contact with them and continued to watch him. We were finally able to line up on a deal last night.”

Milone, signed to a one-year deal by the Orioles in February, has been effective in his six starts for the Orioles. He’s 1-4 but with a 3.99 ERA, with 13 earned runs allowed on 33 hits in 29.1 innings, with only four walks and 31 strikeouts.

Milone has also pitched five or more innings four times and six innings twice. The Braves are desperate for starting pitchers to go past the fourth inning.

“He’s throwing the ball really well right now, and we feel like we’re obviously a good spot for him,” Anthopoulos said. “We have a lot of faith of what Travis (d’Arnaud) and Tyler (Flowers) do behind the plate.”

The Braves chartered a private flight from Buffalo, where the Orioles were playing the Blue Jays, to Philadelphia for Milone and he is scheduled to start tonight’s game against the Phillies.

Anthopoulos said the two players who will head to Baltimore are not in the Braves’ 60-man player pool. “The latest it will happen is sometime in 2021,” he said.

Most believe this could be the first of several deals the Braves make before the Monday 4:00 p.m. ET trade deadline. Anthopoulos obviously addressed what could be the biggest need for the Braves, even after acquiring Milone.

“If we can add more on the starting front, we will look to do that,” he said.

The Braves have been linked to Pittsburgh starter Joe Musgrove and Texas starter Lance Lynn in the last 24 hours.

For more coverage on the trade deadline, join Bill Monday at 3:00 p.m. ET for The Bill Shanks Show on Sports Radio 93-1 WXKO TheSuperStations.com. You can follow Bill on Twitter @billshanks and email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.