Red Sox acquire Tommy Pham

8slim

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I’m already looking forward to 10 years from now when I can reply in a thread “I totally forgot Pham was ever on the Sox”.
 

AlNipper49

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If Jimy Williams were still here he’d be elated to have found his new leadoff man against righties.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
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Is he going to hit for JBJ against RHP too?
JBJ might not even still be on the roster by the time Pham is. But if they're both still on the roster I'd guess probably not, at least not at Fenway.
 

soxin6

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No way Pham exercises his part of the option. He can get more than $4.5 on the market.

If he's not flipped again then I gotta think Verdugo is on the move. The Sox now have three outfielders who can only play left field.
So we should trade Verdugo for more prospects that will likely fail? What an amazing return our magnificent GM was able to get for an MVP.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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So we should trade Verdugo for more prospects that will likely fail? What an amazing return our magnificent GM was able to get for an MVP.
Smart
by Shel Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes-- I guess he didn't know
That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!
And I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!
 

circus catch

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Nov 6, 2009
284
Duran, JBJ, Cordero AND Verdugo all have negative WAR on baseball reference. Pham is at O.6. A lot of people are complaining, but Pham might just be our best outfielder.
 

grepal

New Member
Jul 20, 2005
193
Smart
by Shel Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes-- I guess he didn't know
That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!
And I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!
More simply said, "never trade a horse for two ponies"
 

grimshaw

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Weren’t people screaming during spring training that Pham should be Jackie’s platoon partner?
He doesn't want to sit ever so I think he went where he could play every day. I think he'd be the type to not do well as a bench guy. But now that he isn't great maybe he doesn't have a choice.
 

Rovin Romine

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What's weird is that it's essentially a rental. Of a 34 year old OF who is not having a good season at the plate. With a $6m mutual option.

So Pham have a role on this team next year? That's the only way this make sense.

Unless they think they might randomly make the postseason and/or don't want to openly tank just yet.

It's just got a weird shape to me. Neither here nor there.
 

circus catch

New Member
Nov 6, 2009
284
What's weird is that it's essentially a rental. Of a 34 year old OF who is not having a good season at the plate. With a $6m mutual option.

So Pham have a role on this team next year? That's the only way this make sense.

Unless they think they might randomly make the postseason and/or don't want to openly tank just yet.

It's just got a weird shape to me. Neither here nor there.
I think that given the state of the outfield, bringing in a league average outfielder makes sense. The option is interesting. Put some hitters around him and he might hit a bit. He had a .780 OPS a month ago.
 

chawson

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What's weird is that it's essentially a rental. Of a 34 year old OF who is not having a good season at the plate. With a $6m mutual option.

So Pham have a role on this team next year? That's the only way this make sense.

Unless they think they might randomly make the postseason and/or don't want to openly tank just yet.

It's just got a weird shape to me. Neither here nor there.
I'm iffy on how the $1.5m buyout would count for '23 AAV but it would effectively be a $4.5m option, right? Genuinely not sure how whether either side picks it up but $4.5m does seem like it could be a bargain if he stays as a fourth outfielder. But I think if he's a fourth outfielder he's not going to want to stay.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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The option is a mutual one at $6M. If both sides don’t agree, Pham gets $1.5M to walk away. So yeah, if Pham thinks he can get more than $4.5M, I assume he walks. Maybe the Sox could try to work something out with him, but is it really appealing to guarantee at least $6M to Pham to join an OF that already has Duran, Verdugo, Cordero, and the awful JBJ option? That’s pretty low upside. Maybe the Reds are paying some of Pham’s deal; the idea of paying him the rest of this year and then the buyout next year seems wasteful.
 

Rovin Romine

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I think that given the state of the outfield, bringing in a league average outfielder makes sense. The option is interesting. Put some hitters around him and he might hit a bit. He had a .780 OPS a month ago.
I'm iffy on how the $1.5m buyout would count for '23 AAV but it would effectively be a $4.5m option, right? Genuinely not sure how whether either side picks it up but $4.5m does seem like it could be a bargain if he stays as a fourth outfielder. But I think if he's a fourth outfielder he's not going to want to stay.
I don't think he's completely washed up. . .but he's also being paid $6m this year. So unless more moves happen, this is paying a bit for the option. Especially if it keeps us above the tax threshold.

Diekman - 3.5
Vazquez - 7

Pham - 6
McGuire - .75
 

circus catch

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Nov 6, 2009
284
I'm iffy on how the $1.5m buyout would count for '23 AAV but it would effectively be a $4.5m option, right? Genuinely not sure how whether either side picks it up but $4.5m does seem like it could be a bargain if he stays as a fourth outfielder. But I think if he's a fourth outfielder he's not going to want to stay.
Who are the three outfielders better than Pham? I think he starts from day 1.
 

mauf

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I don't think he's completely washed up. . .but he's also being paid $6m this year. So unless more moves happen, this is paying a bit for the option. Especially if it keeps us above the tax threshold.

Diekman - 3.5
Vazquez - 7

Pham - 6
McGuire - .75
My guess is the Reds are effectively buying the PTBNL by picking up Pham’s 2022 salary. The deal makes no sense otherwise — even if getting under the CBT threshold isn’t his primary goal, closing the door on it to add a right-handed platoon guy is dumb.

If the Reds are picking up Pham’s remaining 2022 salary, they are still saving $1.5M and getting something for their trouble, while shedding a player who has been a disappointment. So it still could make sense for them, even if the PTBNL is no one we’ll miss.

We’re presumably on the hook for the $1.5M buyout, but that hits in 2023.
 

Rovin Romine

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Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
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There's been a lot of chatter/opinion posting about the slap thing for which he was suspended.

What I was reminded of/learned this morning (and what might be of some interest when considering his stats) is that Pham was pretty seriously stabbed in October of 2020. 12 inch scar on his lower back - 200 stitches. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2021/06/27/padres-tommy-pham-strip-club-stabbing-court-settlement/5359664001/
He was also stabbed by his stepdad around 2013 (he was 25 years old at the time): https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2019/03/02/why-we-cant-all-relate-to-tommy-phams-fire/
 

Van Everyman

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Holy shit, this whole Joc Peterson slap incident is wild. Pham seems like kind of a character based on this Athletic piece about it. He blames Mike Trout for being a terrible fantasy fan commissioner!

Are we sure this trade didn’t just make this Red Sox team more interesting?
 

chawson

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If Pham is a Bloom guy from way back and we were comfortable having a payroll over the tax anyway, why not just sign Pham in the spring?

I suppose he might have believed in Refsnyder, but there'd be no harm in keeping Refsnyder in Worcester until he performs well and see if Pham produces, cutting him if he doesn't. Now, Pham is having a subpar year and we're still acquiring him.
 

ngruz25

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Is Verdugo playing in RF going forward? Pham has pretty much only played LF the last few years.

It's going to be an interesting outfield. Pham, Duran, and Verdugo is a pretty subpar defense. Kike can't return fast enough...
 

chawson

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Is Verdugo playing in RF going forward? Pham has pretty much only played LF the last few years.

It's going to be an interesting outfield. Pham, Duran, and Verdugo is a pretty subpar defense. Kike can't return fast enough...
Maybe? Cora said in the spring that Verdugo has requested to stay in left field and he'll accommodate it. So that's three left fielders, basically.
 

8slim

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Is Verdugo playing in RF going forward? Pham has pretty much only played LF the last few years.

It's going to be an interesting outfield. Pham, Duran, and Verdugo is a pretty subpar defense. Kike can't return fast enough...
That OF is pretty subpar at everything. It's been a helluva ride at that spot since 2019, that's for sure.
 

Van Everyman

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joe dokes

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This kind of confirms my sense that they wanted Pham as much for his intensity and urgency as they did his baseball skills. So all the “character” stuff people are ho-ho-ing about may actually be seen as a positive by Bloom given the team’s makeup and propensity for coasting for long stretches.
Coasting aside, it's just a long fucking season. Having someone on the back end of his career who has just escaped a going nowhere franchise can be a pretty helpful jolt.
 

chawson

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Coasting aside, it's just a long fucking season. Having someone on the back end of his career who has just escaped a going nowhere franchise can be a pretty helpful jolt.
The Reds are certainly go-nowhere, but Pham signed with them because he knew it to be a solid hitters park and wanted to boost his stats to get paid in free agency, possibly a response to losing his grip on a starting role in San Diego. It’s wasn’t a bad plan in theory.

"I’m playing to get some numbers, I don’t care about anything else," Pham said. "I got to look out for me. At the end of the day baseball is going to move on without me. I got to get mine right now."


Fenway’s also a good fit for him. I could easily see him opting out of his end of the ‘23 compact if he has a good couple of months.
 

Harry Hooper

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Pham revealed to Speier that he wanted to sign with Boston after the lockout ended in March because of the Red Sox’ perceived contention status and his relationships with some of the people in the organization.

However, the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement and on March 26, Pham signed a one-year, $6 million deal with Cincinnati.

“We were close. We were close,” Pham said of his offseason negotiations with the Red Sox. “Chaim just didn’t pull the trigger, man. I wanted to come here.”
So, how much help for the putrid offense in the first approx. 5 weeks of the season would Pham have provided if Bloom had sweetened the offer a tad more?