TODAY: The Reds have officially announced Pham’s signing. Tejay Antone (who underwent Tommy John surgery in August) was placed on the 60-day injured list to create roster room.
March 24: Pham is guaranteed $7.5MM on the deal, coming in the form of a $6MM salary and a $1.5MM buyout on next year’s mutual option, Nightengale further reports.
March 23: The Reds are in agreement with outfielder Tommy Pham on a one-year deal, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The deal, which contains a mutual option for 2023, is pending a physical. Financial terms have not been disclosed. Pham is a client of Vayner Sports.
Pham was one of the game’s more underrated players early in his career with the Cardinals and Rays. Between 2017-19, the right-handed hitter posted a .284/.381/.475 line while averaging nearly 22 home runs and stolen bases apiece per season. Pham routinely posted high-end exit velocities and walk rates while making a decent amount of contact. A high ground-ball tendency kept him from emerging as an elite power threat, but he was a well-rounded and highly productive offensive player.
Over the 2019-20 offseason, Tampa Bay traded Pham and Jake Cronenworth to the Padres in a deal that sent Hunter Renfroe and Xavier Edwards back to the Rays. While Pham was the headliner of the swap from the Friars’ perspective, Cronenworth proved to be the more valuable pickup. Pham struggled to a .211/.312/.312 mark during the shortened 2020 season, the only below-average offensive showing of his career. Last year’s .229/.340/.383 slash was a tick above average, by measure of wRC+, but it still came up well shy of his early-career numbers.
Pham, who didn’t emerge as a regular until his age-29 campaign, turned 34 earlier this month. It’s certainly possible his recent downturn is attributable to aging, but it’s worth noting he dealt with a few health issues in San Diego that probably also had a deleterious effect on his performance. Pham missed a month in 2020 after fracturing the hamate bone in his right hand, an injury that could certainly have sapped some of his power. Last offseason, he was the victim of a life-threatening stabbing attack that required 200 stitches to close a wound in his back.
Remarkably, Pham returned by Opening Day and didn’t spend any time on the injured list. Yet he was open about how the incident affected his offseason routine, and it’s possible he was never fully healthy in 2021. Pham actually performed much better in the first half of the year than he did in the second — he didn’t merely start slowly while recovering from the stabbing — but it’d be understandable if he weren’t up to the physical grind of a 162-game season coming off the prior winter’s tribulations.
Pham’s dip in results has been attributable to what has happened on balls in play. Last season’s 13.9% walk rate remained excellent, while his 22.8% strikeout percentage is right in line with his career marks. Pham still made plenty of authoritative contact. His 47.6% hard contact rate and 94.9 MPH average exit velocity on balls hit in the air were both definitively better than average. The results didn’t align with those batted ball numbers, though, as Pham saw a career-low 13.5% of his fly balls clear the fences.
San Diego’s pitcher-friendly home ballpark didn’t seem to do the veteran outfielder any favors. Pham’s .412 weighted on-base average on fly balls was far outstripped by his .562 “expected” weighted on-base on those batted balls, per Statcast. A few more of those flies should clear the fences at the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, perhaps enabling Pham to post numbers closer to his career norms.
That makes him a sensible buy-low target, although the signing comes in the broader context of a strange offseason for the Reds. Much of the winter was focused on the club’s cost-cutting efforts. They parted ways with Wade Miley, Tucker Barnhart, Sonny Gray and Jesse Winker and seemingly made no effort to retain free agent Nick Castellanos. Those all thinned out a roster that was marginally above-average (83-79 with a +26 run differential) last season.
That’ll make it difficult to make a serious run at contention in 2022, but Cincinnati has made a few short-term moves in recent days. They acquired Mike Minor from the Royals and signed each of Donovan Solano, Colin Moran and Hunter Strickland, building out the margins of the roster. Pham may be the most impactful of those moves, but competing this year while slashing costs still looks to be a difficult needle for general manager Nick Krall and his staff to thread.
Pham figures to replace Winker as the primary left fielder. Jake Fraley, whom the Reds acquired from the Mariners in the Winker/Eugenio Suárez trade, is better suited for left but could see some action in center field. Tyler Naquin will probably move from center to right after rating poorly defensively, leaving Fraley, Nick Senzel and Shogo Akiyama as the options in center. That’s not an ideal group, but there weren’t many capable everyday center fielders available in free agency or trade this offseason. Pham isn’t a perfect positional fit, but installing his bat into the lineup should help an offense that lost two of last season’s top three hitters.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Woooooow
Oh look – the Guardians miss out on yet another outfielder.
Sell the team, Dolan.
How can you be a long suffering Guardians fan? They haven’t played a single regular season game yet.
It’s not Dolan it’s Rachel Phelps. On the bright side we’ll get to watch Bobby B set the league record for K’s
The SPIDERS will soon relocate and become the second MLB team in the state of Georgia, the Augusta Arachnids.
The Guardians didn’t miss out on anything.
Yeah, we’re dying for an acquisition, but is Pham really the savior?
Maybe not, but when the big offseason acquisition is re-signing BRYAN SHAW, something is seriously wrong.
If I were Pham and I had relatively comparable offers from the two, I would choose the Reds. The Guardians have a ton of talent about to come up (Palacios, Kwan, Valera and maybe Oscar Gonzalez) and their left field is notoriously bad for right handed hitters (wind can’t blow out with the big wall, bleachers, and scoreboard right there, unless you pull it exactly down the line where the HR porch is). His numbers took a big dip in San Diego as the article says. The Smallpark is the place to bounce those back.
So they trade away half there team to bring in an aging outfielder to take playing time away from a young guys. I love that the reds are in the brewers division!
Young guys*
The Reds have a sever lack of OF depth. They have a few 4A guys, and a couple of injury prone OF, Pham is a very helpful addition.
I think it’s a smart move to sign him. If you know ur team is rebuilding why wouldn’t you want them to sign a peice or 2 they can trade at the deadline, that’s how the smart GM’s move. It’s essentially a few prospect or 2, imagine if he’s on a tear at the deadline
Smart GM & Reds are rarely found in the same sentence
Because he still won’t be wanted by deadline?
What are the Reds doing? I have a great deal of empathy for you Reds fans. It must be so tough to follow that team.
You had the most talented team in MLB for the better part of the 1970’s, have had a few great teams over the last 10-12 yrs all despite being a “small market team.”
In fact, you had the foundation of a playoff team at the start of this yr. Just a few savvy acquisitions away from making a deep postseason run- maybe not winning a WS but at least w a chance to get close to the NLCS imo. Sorry Reds fans, your Org and COL’s leave me scratching my head- it must frustrate the hell out of you…..
The music has stopped and Conforto doesn’t have a chair to sit on.
Conforto is a Boras client. He might end up in right field for the White Sox with an opt out after a year. When do Boras clients sign early? But you’re right about saying Boras has overplayed his hand again.
Don’t ever, ever bet against Scott Boras.
Mr. Conforto has years of a major league career left. He’ll be paid very well.
That draft pick comp screwed him.
The greed is what screws them. The pick is a known included part of the cost.
Given that he was coming off a poor year, taking the QO might’ve worked out well. He’d have gotten paid more, on an annual basis, with the QO than he will with say a 3-year contract. And he could’ve established that he was the .825 OPS that he usually is.
Conforto screwed himself. If the story on this site is accurate in that the Mets offered him a 9 figure contract pre 2021 than he’s an idiot.
Padres are still looking. I was hoping they’d resign Pham on a cheap deal, but here we are. I think the Reds will end up liking this signing very much.
Hoping for Pham? Are you depressed?
Lol. But then again, to not hope for Pham is to…hope for Profar? Mazara? Al Ferrara?
Al Ferrara…good one….Go Padres!
There was never any chance the cost-cutting Reds were going to sign Conforto. If anything, this signing helps him. It takes another OF off the market.
I’m sure Boras will find a stupid GM to bite and overpay.
I could see the Reds signing Conforto on a one year deal or a three year deal with an opt out for him after each season. After next season the Reds have no obligations. Moose and Joey Votto’s contract comes off the book.
Good signing…probably won’t get you to the playoffs but Pham is a good player
Good(ish) player. Great at getting shot at strip clubs. Take him Reds.
He was stabbed, not shot.
Stabbed….get it right.
he was stapped not shot, not a good player.
I think I’d start going to strip clubs if I knew my eyes were going to go.
I live in st louis and i’ve met tommy pham personally a few times. He has a standoffish personality and for sure rubs people the wrong way. He was always hanging out at bars. He most likely said the wrong things to the wrong people. Solid baseball player tho
@isiight He would also complain in post game interviews about fan attendance at the Trop and also the way Cash handled the line up. That was his ( and Snell’s ) ticket out of Tampa. They both haven’t been missed by the Rays.
= Bad clubhouse guy
@isiight- Tommy told 2 scrappers to stay away from his car and got too close to the action. He couldn’t see that this was a bad idea. He tried pushing them away from his Bentley but ended up taking blades to the tune of 200+ stitches. Nothing good happens after 2AM… especially at seedy San Diego strip clubs. I’ll go on record as saying he WAS a good player but his star has lost some sheen. It’s quite unfortunate but the keratosis probably played a large piece of his skill decline. He looked lost at the plate (at times) and lost a few flyballs, too. I hope I’m wrong though, I hope he has a fine ’22… but I just don’t see it happening. Sorry for the vision puns but your “eyesight” name got me started.
Playoffs loooool
Phambulous
And a very unpredictable offseason, this move seemed really predictable to me for some reason.
*In not And
Hmm maybe they’ll want to move Naquin now? Padres desperately need OF help, he seems expendable so they could ship him to SD for a prospect.
Naquin is probably the starting RFr unless Aquino can beat him out.
What are the Reds doing? I don’t see their strategy at all.
Neither do they.
Clearing all big payroll past 2023. Slew of prospects up by 2024. Would’ve liked to see them try to compete in ‘22 but the plan is simple. How well it will be executed is the question.
If the strategy is to ramp up in 2024 with a slew of prospects, then it doesn’t make sense to keep your two biggest trade chips in Castillo and Mahle (both of whom are signed only through 2023). I get Moose and Votto are not tradeable with their contracts, but to trade a guy like Winker (just to unload the Suarez contract) and then come out and say our most valuable trade assets (Castillo and Mahle) are off the table, doesn’t make sense with that 2023/2024 strategy. I’m not a Reds fan, but a baseball fan who feels for Reds fans as that org is a mess.
I blame the owner. He demanded that the payroll get slashed by $50 million. There are smart ways to do that and dumb ways to do that. It is not a good goal to set. What should have happened was he asks for a strategy that prioritizes player development and cost-controlled players so that they can win and stay within their means. That would have meant Castillo and Mahle get traded. It would have prioritized getting prospects back who are two years or less away from the majors. It would have led to significant investment in player development and evaluation. But Castellini just wants to make a little money now, not build a winning organization.
” I don’t see their strategy at all.”
1. The owner is trying to stay out of bankruptcy.
2. The owner would like to sell the franchise, but anyone smart enough to have made the money to afford to buy it, is smart enough not to buy it.
I’d buy it in a heartbeat. You’d have to front me $1B, but it is one of the few toys that us commoners could afford. They could still draw 2.5M fans if they fixed the team.
This is an insane off-season. They give away Miley for nothing and then trade an affordable and good bullpen arm for a worse pitcher making nearly as much money. Not to mention gutting the rest of the roster. Jekyl and Hyde management. Then a random Tommy Pham signing
And they have solid players that they could build around like a guy like India.
If you’re going to trade Gray, Winker, and Suarez, don’t go half way and pivot to signing guys like Pham, Strickland, Solano, and Moran.
I don’t get the path forward here at all.
It’s easy, they’re following the Rockies’ game plan…
“Okay, and….sell,sell, sell!”
“Stop! Hold on. Buy random FA guy….now!”
Thought Pham would make a decent 4th outfielder for the Yanks.
Alas: we were outbid by the Reds.
He would’ve. There are several guys out there who would’ve fit very nicely on the squad because of who they were replacing… yet, here we are, talking about repeating history again.
It’s really mind numbing. ‘Very much like Samuel’s posts.
Ducky, I thought the same thing for the RS, but $7.5M? I thought maybe $4-5M for a #4.
He got 7.5?
Huh. As a top 50 free agent honorable mention, like you I figured he would get 5 mil or less. Looks like his agent did a nice job for him.
I was hoping the Phils would add him to the Phamily
Pham is a good signing by the Reds. Provided they limit his playing time. He can bring some energy to the team when he is fresh. Have always liked Tommy to provide spark.
if pham acts up, votto will straighten him up
I guess the Pads are going with Profar in LF. Yeeowee
I guess this signing bumps Ken Griffey Jr. down to the 7th highest paid player on the Reds
That power in that ballpark should be fun to watch.
I understand not every team is going for it all, but owners still should give fans something entertaining.
They really should just be kind and gift the Yankees Castillo if you really think about it.
Ha ha. Trout and Ohtani on the playoffs would be nice. Let us have Christmas.
Honestly, I’ve always said I’d love to see that. I always want to see the best players on the biggest stage, man. And I’ve always really liked Trout; not just because he’s the best player of my generation, but because Trout has character, respects the game, and respects the fans of the game – he’s a true role model.
Come on Clip Trout couldn’t care less about winning. He sat his ass on the bench for almost the whole season for a strain then had the nerve to say if the Angels were in the race he would have played through the “pain”. That’s what $37 million a year buys a team these days. I have an idea, how about he played through the “pain” to help his team get in the race?
Short-term “pain” for long-term gain? Maybe the decision was to try to get him fully healthy and try to take some of the risk out of the future value of his contract?
It was a tear
Gotta love a situation where a players not playing because they have the Contract. Saving future value simply means that there’s no value from the contract NOW! If he could play if he didn’t have the Contract, he should play!
Another Common Reds L
Phamtastic, I guess.
In the event of a draft will baseball be cancelled?
https://twitter.com/SSS_gov/status/1506677659182551040
Baseball wasn’t cancelled during WWII, why would it be cancelled during WWIII?
A lot more than baseball will be cancelled it these warhawks in DC push us into WWIII.
The warhawk is in Russia. you nimrod.
Looks like opening roster OF, barring further moves, will be Pham/Fraley, Senzel and Naquin/Aquino, leaving Akiyama and Friedl out.
are my methods insane?
i don’t see any method at all, sir
apocalypse now or an interview with reds ownership?
“Who’s in charge here?”
“In charge? I don’t know, man. I’m just doing what I’m told.”
Reported as a $7.5MM deal (6+1.5)…
The deal almost fell apart because Pham wanted to get paid with all ones.
Any good strip joints in cincy?
No, if you want to go to a good strip club and live in the Cincinnati area you need to pack a lunch and a thermos.
Poor Tommy. My condolences to him.
Don’t think he’s gonna play first base for them.
I’m sure Votto would be happy to waive his no trade clause at this point.
The Cleveland Wokes.
Fans that cry about a name change are snowflakes.
The snowflakes are the reason for the name change in the first place.
Pham in San Diego, sum it up in one word, terrible…
Literally, a disaster.
Having watched Pham play the last couple years as a padre fan I can tell you he’s one of the worst outfielders I’ve ever seen. He will play and out into a single and a single into a triple and has one of the worst arms I’ve ever seen.
True. I wonder what the Pads will do with LF though? Never seen a team enter the season with 2 OF total (Myers and Grisham) on team. Okay, Profar sort of makes 3. Maybe Abrams will play as rover.
So who comes off the 40 man roster since signing Hunter Strickland set them full. Unless Jose Barrios goes on the 60 day disabled list. Or they pay a bunch down and find a taker for Akiyama
At least a couple of pitchers can go on the 60-day IL. Antone and Dunn. They’ll probably also need to add another catcher to the 40-man.
A lot of money for a guy whose offense is “meh” (despite the hard-hit rate, where he excels) and whose defense is borderline wretched, poor base running to boot, and some bad-boy. Still, it’s the NL Central, where everybody but the Bucs are “in it”.
Can you say, way way over priced!
I saw him signing a 1 year deal worth 3 million with an option for a 2nd year
That price tag was a stunner.
Winker’s Arb dollars will be the same or less than Pham’s contract. Winker was a high price to pay for a salary dump of Suarez.
BTW – Moose already tweaked his shoulder. So, who plays 3rd?
By default Pham becomes our best outfielder. Wish we had him 4-5 years ago when he used to rake the Reds as I recall.
I started to hate Pham when he was crying he just bought a bentley and his investments went down 100K $ at the beginning of the pandemic. That’s such a weird thing to say in a press conference
I was hoping the Red Sox would have signed Pham.
This signing really sucks. A panic buy plus scraping the bottom of the barrel. Would have much better seen the Reds trade for the recently DFA’d Matt Beatty of the Dodgers. The signing of Pham is like heating up 3 day old pizza and expecting it to taste fresh.
$7..5 MM for a washed up over-the-hill 34 year old.
Another negative is the Reds 40 man roster is at 40. Somebody will have to be DFA’d to make room for Pham now. What a waste of a roster spot.
On the plus side, Pham will be gone by July 31.
It really hurts to be a Reds fan these last 6-7 years. A meddling majority owner who aspires to be baseball’s Jerry Jones (a GM and Owner) and a very, very poor front office makes for a great combination to kill off a loyal fan base. Just pathetic.
I don’t understand, you’re paying more for this guy yet you trade winker that’s is better Phillies steel castillano come reds some one is not doing there homework
Who is the 4th highest paid Red this year? …………..Ken Griffey, lol
Non factor. That slapdick prospect trade looks great now
We’re more than happy with versatile All Star Cro… TB released Froe and we really didn’t have a future plan for Slapdick X. Seems like an odd win/win trade (if X has a decent MLB line) even if the “main” components have already fizzled out.
Next time Tommy! Cheetahs instead of Pacers when you’re in SD.
Heck, even Dirty Dan’s or Pure Platinum are safer lol
Not sure if this has been mentioned but the Pham stabbing was actually the SECOND time he was stabbed. Once may be a a sign of bad luck; the second may tell us something about the person.
Best of luck to the former Friar. He can play anywhere in the outfield, and the Reds will likely plug him into the leadoff or #2 hole for them in their batting order/lineup. Even if that’s via platoon level playing time.
Seems like a pretty stiff overpay. The Reds are thin on talent but this guy is pretty far past whatever expiration date he had. Literally cannot even see half the time..
Considering the Reds budget I’d say this will be one of their better pickups regardless if he has declined since his days in Tampa Bay….It was an overpay to ensure that Cincy has a capable glove and who can hit at the top of the order.
DAMN!
That’s a ton of money for a guy who had a .724 OPS last season! Makes sense, but still could’ve gotten a cheaper option who they could’ve traded at the deadline.
I have no idea what the Reds are doing this offseason except to further alienate their fans.
If they don’t want to spend and rebuild, then do it. Instead they will likely just be run of the mill bad and end up with 70-75 wins.
I guess they need to prepare the strip clubs with gauze and tourniquets for when he decides to have a night out.
Definitely not a fan favorite in San Diego with his poor judgment and bad attitude.
The Reds have asked former Cincy mayor Jerry Springer to show Pham around town.
Too much partying did in Pham. Like Matt Harvey. Could have had a longer, more productive career. It comes down to self-discipline. Some guys have it some guys don’t
Some guys just don’t really care. They have a couple big seasons and say ok I did it and they want to move on to some other challenge in life
But Jeter always went out. But he was probably a lot more disciplined. One beer or two maybe
Does it really matter? I don’t really think it does. Pham just isn’t into it. There’s guys like Harper who take it ultra seriously. Seriously family-oriented. That’s fine too. Everyone is different I guess.
This guy is a cancer to clubhouses and strip clubs
One of those ‘heads we break even, tails we lose’ signings on an old player in steep decline. A foolish signing poorly run teams routinely waste money on. Make a couple of these an you’ve cost yourself the AAV of an All-Star.
You can also spend it instead in the IFA market and give yourself real upside.
Forgot to mention in my previous post that’s Pham might have the worst arm in the game. He has a hard time hitting the relay guy on one hop.