Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote Wednesday that “the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals are thought to have some interest in Tommy Pham.” Pham is a polarizing player, so said report lit up social media as it started to make the rounds.
Acquiring a right-handed hitting outfielder — one likely to work in some sort of a platoon with Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas — does appear to be arguably the No. 1 need for the Phillies in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. Pham has an .863 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season, so from a baseball sense he would seem to be worth considering as a platoon partner in left field with Marsh.
It would make sense for his name to at least be brought up internally as president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and the front office search for upgrades. However, there’s a strong argument that Pham’s name should be crossed off the list about as quickly as it was brought up.
Pham, 36, is on his eighth team in 11 MLB seasons. Granted, that’s partially due to him being traded to contenders at the deadline, like last year when he was dealt from the New York Mets to the Arizona Diamondbacks. If you were inclined to make a pro-Pham argument, you could point to the veteran presence of Pham helping an upstart Diamondbacks team to make a rather shocking run to the World Series a year ago.
At the same time, what does it say about Pham that even after helping the Snakes to win the pennant last year, he wasn’t on a roster at the time of Opening Day? That Pham had to settle for a minor-league deal with the White Sox in mid-April feels like a red flag.
An even bigger red flag are some of the problematic interactions he’s had with his peers in recent years.
In the summer of 2022, Pham — then playing with the Cincinnati Reds — slapped then-San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson before a game over a beef that traced back to a fantasy football league. Rather than apologizing for the incident, Pham was defiant.
“I’ve got no regrets. None at all,” Pham told Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “Joc deserved to be slapped.”
Then in June of this year, Pham had a perhaps even more bizarre reaction to Milwaukee Brewers’ catcher William Contreras being excited after tagging him out at the plate.
Things got ever weirder when Pham addressed the play at the plate after the game.
Much has been said about the camaraderie that exists in the Phillies clubhouse this season. The Phillies are obviously a very talented group, but as someone that covers the team, the closeness of the club is a real factor in them having an MLB-best 62 wins at the All-Star Break. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Ranger Suárez, Garrett Stubbs, Matt Strahm and José Alvarado are among those who have been crucial in cultivating a great clubhouse environment.
There are two schools of thought when you talk about adding a personality like what Pham appears to be into what is a very tight clubhouse. On one hand, you may have the infrastructure to be able to absorb Pham, particularly since it would only be for a few months. On the other hand, you have to be careful with any additions you make to not mess with what’s a very good culture.
If Pham was 2008 Manny Ramirez and was capable of carrying your club, it might be a different calculation. But players like Lane Thomas of the Washington Nationals, Mark Canha of the Detroit Tigers and Taylor Ward of the Los Angeles Angels could give you at least the same level of production as Pham, if not better. In this case, the risk just doesn’t seem worth the reward.
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