Red Sox acquire Tommy Pham
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
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”.
He stinks this year and evidence has shown he’s a divisive clubhouse presence. So…no.
If Jimy Williams were still here he’d be elated to have found his new leadoff man against righties.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
They have like $100m to spend and multiple spots open in the outfield, pretty sure they're going to sign at least 1 outfielder
Agreed, but seeing they probably don't have JD either, Pham might not be out of a job.
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.
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/
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/
I haven’t seen any special details attached, just Pham for a ptbnl/ cash considerations. Other than Pham’s notoriety this doesn’t seem to be anything more than the Sox acquiring a fringe piece for a couple months.
Huh. Interesting.
Well, if the Pederson slap is the worst thing Pham does, he'll have beaten the odds in more ways than one. (And that's not really faint-praise.)
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?
Are we sure this trade didn’t just make this Red Sox team more interesting?
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.
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...
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.
That OF is pretty subpar at everything. It's been a helluva ride at that spot since 2019, that's for sure.
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.
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.
