Tomaso Anthony Milone ( ; born February 16, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Amateur career
Born and raised in Santa Clarita, California, Milone attended Saugus High School, where he was a standout as a pitcher and hitter. Milone won All-State honors twice, and was the Foothill Player of the Year his senior season, in which he hit .474 and threw a perfect game, finishing the year with a 9–2 record and a 1.04 ERA. Milone then attended the University of Southern California, playing for the USC Trojans baseball team and pursued a degree in public policy and development. As a freshman, Milone was named the number two starter in the rotation and went 7–4 with a 4.94 ERA in 16 starts. In his sophomore season, Milone struggled, going 3–7 with a 6.17 ERA. His junior season would prove to be his best, Milone went 6–6 with a 3.51 ERA and was the number one starter in the rotation. In 2007, Milone played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Chatham A's, winning the B.F.C. Whitehouse Award, given to the best pitcher in the league, after finishing the summer 6–1 with a 2.92 ERA.
Professional career
Washington Nationals
Milone was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 10th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
Milone made his major league debut on September 3, 2011, against the New York Mets. Milone struck out Angel Pagan of the New York Mets for his first career strikeout. Later in the same game, he hit a three-run home run on the first pitch of his first Major League at bat, becoming the 27th player, and only the eighth pitcher, in major league history to do so. He left the game after pitching four and one-third innings.
Oakland Athletics
On December 23, 2011, Milone was traded with A. J. Cole, Derek Norris and Brad Peacock to the Oakland Athletics for Gio González and Robert Gilliam.
Milone started the regular season in the third starting rotation spot behind Brandon McCarthy and Bartolo Colón. Milone was the only starting pitcher in the A's rotation to last all season without getting injured and had started the most games for the A's during the 2012 season. He pitched his first complete game of his career on June 20 defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. Milone had started game 2 of the ALDS, but the A's had lost to a no decision in the bottom of the 9th inning. Milone finished the season with a 13–10 record and with 137 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.74.
Milone was optioned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats on August 3, 2013. Milone finished the season with 12 wins in 28 games, 26 of them starts.
Milone started the 2014 season in the A's rotation as the fifth starter. Despite owning a record of 6–3 and a 3.55 ERA in 16 starts, Milone was sent down to AAA. After his demotion he demanded a trade.
Minnesota Twins
On July 31, 2014, the Athletics traded Milone to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder Sam Fuld. Milone started in five games for the Twins before being shut down with a neck injury.
Milone had a bounce back season in 2015 going 9–5 with a 3.92 ERA in 128.2 innings. Milone struggled in 2016 going 3–5 with a 5.12 ERA and after the season he declined being outrighted to Triple-A Rochester by electing free agency.
Milwaukee Brewers
On December 14, 2016, Milone signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was designated for assignment on May 1, 2017, when the team purchased the contract of Rob Scahill. With the Brewers he was 1–0 with a 6.43 ERA.
New York Mets
On May 7, 2017, the New York Mets claimed Milone off waivers. With the Mets, he was 0–3 with a 8.56 ERA. In 2017 between the two teams, right-handed batters had a higher batting average against him, .348, than against all other MLB pitchers in 30 or more innings.
Second stint in Washington
On December 20, 2017, the Washington Nationals signed Milone to a minor league contract, with an invite to spring training. On July 26, 2018, he was called up in place of Stephen Strasburg in the rotation. Milone was reassigned to the bullpen on August 18. On September 4, Milone was outrighted off the roster. For the season he was 1–1 with a 5.81 ERA. He declared free agency on October 2, 2018.