Tommy Pham
Position: OF
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 223 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 3/8/1988
High School: Durango HS (Las Vegas, NV)
Drafted: 16th Round, 496th Overall, 2006 (Cardinals)
How Acquired: Free Agent
Bonus: $325,000
40-man Roster: Yes
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Minor League Free Agency: N/A
Options Left: N/A
Overview
After being drafted in the 16th round in 2006, Pham spent over nine years in the Cards’ farm system, apart from two ABs in 2014, before getting a shot in the majors at age 27. He hit well from the start. Although the Cards still sent him to the minors for parts of 2016-17, he continued to hit well in the majors. He was traded to Tampa Bay late in the 2018 season, then to San Diego after the 2019 season. Beginning in 2020, Pham’s hitting started going through ups and downs, and seldom approached his 2015-19 levels. In 2022, Pham started a stretch of playing for seven teams over three seasons.
In his good years, Pham hit for average and power, and had good walk rates. His average and walk rate have dropped sharply in recent seasons, though, and he’s only had decent power in most years. He’s always struck out in somewhere around a quarter of his plate appearances. For his career, he has a mild platoon split, with an OPS of .817 against LHPs and .757 against RHPs. He had very good speed for much of his career, but according to Statcast it’s now around average. Pham played a lot in center early in his career, but since 2019 he’s mostly played left. Statcast has rated him below average defensively since 2017, with his range being below or far below average. His arm is above average.
The Pirates signed Pham to a major league contract for 2025. Remarkably, they paid him 25% more than he made in 2023 even though he performed below replacement level that year.
2006-09
Pham struggled through his first four years with the Cards. He spent time at each of the four lowest levels of the minors and his career OPS at those levels ranges from .615 to .690. He didn’t hit for power or average, and also had trouble making contact in some seasons.
2010-14
Over the next five seasons, Pham started hitting much better, including much improved power. He also got interrupted a lot by injuries.
Pham split 2010 between high A and AA, and had a .960 OPS in 38 games in AA. He also missed some time with a wrist fracture. In 2011, he stayed in AA and had an .890 OPS in 40 games, but he missed the rest of the season with a torn wrist ligament. He then missed nearly all of 2012 with a torn labrum.
In 2013, Pham returned to AA again and had a .910 OPS. That got him to AAA, where he struggled to a .678 OPS. He missed about six weeks during the season with a couple more injuries. In 2014, he managed to avoid injuries and batted 324/395/491 in AAA. The Cards called him up partway into September and he got into six games, although he made only two trips to the plate.
2015-19
The Cards sent Pham back to AAA in 2015 after he missed the first two months with a quad strain. He had a .901 OPS in AAA. He moved up and down a couple times, but he got into 52 games in the majors and batted 268/347/477. In 2016, Pham made the opening day roster but suffered an oblique injury during batting practice on opening day. Once he returned, he stayed in AAA until the Cards called him up in mid-June. He got into 78 games with them and had a lot of swing-and-miss problems, posting a 39% K rate. That led to a low average, but he still hit 226/324/440.
In 2017, the Cards again sent Pham to AAA to start the season and he had an .871 OPS until they finally called him up to stay in early May. He had his best season, batting 306/411/520 with 23 home runs, 95 runs and 73 RBIs, all career highs. He also stole 25 bases, which is tied for his career high.
Pham finally started the season in the majors in 2018. He spent the first four months with the Cards and his hitting tailed off to 248/331/399. At the deadline, the Cards traded him to Tampa Bay. He missed the first two weeks of August with an injury, but got hot over the rest of the season, batting 343/448/622. For the season he had an .831 OPS and 21 home runs.
Pham stayed with the Rays in 2019 and had another good year, with 21 home runs and a line of 273/369/450. After the season, the Rays traded him to San Diego.
2020-21
Starting with the pandemic season, Pham’s hitting dropped off. He had a rough season that year, although he played in only 31 games due to a hamate fracture. On the season he had only a .624 OPS. In 2021, he played in a career high 155 games and bounced back somewhat. He batted 229/340/383 with 15 home runs, his overall numbers being saved by 78 walks. After the season, Pham became a free agent and signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati.
2022-24
In 2022, Pham started traveling. That year, he dropped off again, hitting 238/320/374 in four months with the Reds. At the deadline, they sent him to Boston 234/298/374 there. He had 17 home runs and his plate discipline declined to a 56:167 BB:K ratio. He became a free agent again after the season and this time signed with the Mets. With them in 2023, his hitting picked up sharply, with a 268/348/472 line over four months. He got traded again at the deadline, this time to Arizona, where he hit decently, at 241/304/415 over 50 games. He had 16 total home runs on the year.
Pham became a free agent again after 2023 and this time wasn’t able to find a deal until a couple weeks into the regular season. He signed a minor league contract with the White Sox and got called up ten days later. He was with them until the trade deadline, hitting decently with a .710 OPS. The Sox sent Pham to St. Louis in a large three-team trade in which the main return to the Cards was Erick Fedde. Pham got off to a big start with the Cards, but then went into a 3-for-39 tailspin. St. Louis waived him at the end of August and Kansas City, which was destined to make the playoffs despite an abysmal performance from its outfielders, picked him up. Pham didn’t hit at all for the Royals, batting just 228/250/337. On the full season, he hit only nine home runs, and his BB:K was 35:106.
Stats
Transactions
June 7, 2006: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round, 496th overall pick; signed on June 17.
September 8, 2014: Contract purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals.
July 31, 2018: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with $500,000 international bonus pool space to the Tampa Bay Rays for Justin Williams, Genesis Cabrera and Roel Ramirez.
December 6, 2019: Traded by the Tampa Bay Rays with Jake Cronenworth to the San Diego Padres for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards and Esteban Quiroz.
November 3, 2021: Became a free agent.
March 26, 2022: Signed as a free agent by the Cincinnati Reds.
August 1, 2022: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Boston Red Sox for Nicholas Northcut.
November 9, 2022: Became a free agent.
January 24, 2023: Signed as a free agent by the New York Mets.
August 1, 2023: Traded by the New York Mets with cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jeremy Rodriguez.
November 2, 2023: Became a free agent.
April 16, 2024: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Chicago White Sox.
April 26, 2024: Called up by the Chicago White Sox.
July 29, 2024: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Erick Fedde and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a three-team trade in which the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus, Jeral Perez and cash to the White Sox for Michael Kopech, and the Cardinals traded Tommy Edman and Oliver Gonzalez to the Dodgers.
August 31, 2024: Claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals by the Kansas City Royals.
October 31, 2024: Became a free agent.
February 16, 2025: Signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates.