masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles revealed the identities of the two players to be named later in the Tommy Milone trade with the Braves.
The team announced this afternoon that it’s receiving infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen to complete the deadline deal.
Graffanino, 23, was chosen by the Braves in the eighth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Washington and rose to No. 23 among the organization’s prospects in the MLBPipeline.com rankings. He’s batted .316/.342/.380 in two…

The Orioles revealed the identities of the two players to be named later in the Tommy Milone trade with the Braves.

The team announced this afternoon that it’s receiving infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen to complete the deadline deal.

Graffanino, 23, was chosen by the Braves in the eighth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Washington and rose to No. 23 among the organization’s prospects in the MLBPipeline.com rankings. He’s batted .316/.342/.380 in two minor league seasons, but received only one plate appearance last summer at high Single-A Florida before exiting the first game with an undisclosed injury or illness.

Orioles bags.jpgThe son of former major league infielder Tony Graffanino is primarily a shortstop but also has played second base. He’s received props for his defense, but doesn’t show much power, with only one home run in 185 plate appearances.

The Braves drafted Cullen, 23, in the 15th round in 2018 out of Niagara University. Primarily a second baseman who’s also moved over to shortstop, Cullen has slashed .273/.387/.400 with 35 doubles, nine triples and 11 home runs 809 plate appearances between Rookie-level and low Single-A.

The Braves released Milone after he made three starts and was placed on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. He allowed 16 runs and 22 hits in 9 2/3 innings.

Milone was substantially better with the Orioles after signing a minor league deal in February, posting a 3.99 ERA and 1.261 WHIP in six starts and averaging a career-high 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

The veteran left-hander is back on the free agent market.

The Orioles also are receiving a player to be named later from the Astros for pitcher Hector Velázquez – the last of the six obtained in trades this summer.

Teams were allowed to trade minor league players beginning today at 9 a.m. They had been frozen this summer unless assigned to an alternate camp site.

Graffanino and Cullen profile differently than the three PTBNL acquired in the deals involving Richard Bleier, Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro. Issac De León, Mishael Deson and Victor González are ticketed for the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.