The Phillies are among the teams with some interest in White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham, writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Philadelphia is known to be on the hunt for some outfield help in the run-up to the July 30 trade deadline, and while they’ve been more heavily rumored to be seeking a true center fielder, the 36-year-old Pham could still give them a solid bat in left field (pushing Brandon Marsh to center with more regularity) or a bat off the bench who could be paired with a true center field addition. The Royals have also been linked to Pham.
While Pham doesn’t offer the defensive excellence of current Philadelphia outfielders Johan Rojas and Cristian Pache, he can handle center field in a pinch. He also brings quite a bit more offense to the table than either player. Pham’s bat has cooled since a hot start to the season, but he’s still sporting a solid .264/.339/.368 slash line on the season (103 wRC+). This is Pham’s tenth full big league season and the eighth in which he’s provided at least average offense.
The Phillies recently released veteran Whit Merrifield, who’d played 25 games in left field for them (in addition to 14 at second base and a dozen at the hot corner). The hope had been that he could be a vital bat for them against lefties, but that didn’t prove to be the case. He hit just .190/.238/.329 in 84 plate appearances against southpaws. Pham, on the other hand, has pummeled lefties, hitting .260/.383/.480 when holding the platoon advantage. He’s posted a solid .265 average and .325 on-base percentage against righties but hasn’t hit for any power in right-on-right situations, slugging just .337.
Pham’s contractual status also likely appeals to a Phillies club that is already in the second tier of luxury tax penalization. He’s playing the season on a $3MM salary, with about $1.21MM of that sum yet to be paid out as of this writing. (He’d be owed a $500K assignment bonus upon being traded and can unlock an additional $1.5MM in salary based on plate appearances.) Because the Phils are paying the tax for a third straight year and in the second tier of penalty ($20MM to $40MM over the $237MM tax threshold), they’ll pay a 62% tax on any dollars added to the payroll.
Adding Pham and the remainder of his modest base salary would result in an additional $750K of tax penalties, bringing his theoretical luxury hit for the club to $1.96MM (the exact number will be impacted by which team pays the assignment bonus and the actual timing of a potential trade, of course). That’s of particular benefit to the Phillies, who would see their top pick in the 2025 draft pushed back 10 places if they reach $277MM in tax considerations. At present, RosterResource projects the Phils at $261.6MM worth of luxury obligations. With the Phillies surely eyeing multiple upgrades ahead of the deadline, assuring that at least one of those pickups comes with a relatively minimal salary commitment could be extra importance.
This is completely false. Matt Gelb, their #1 beat writer, reported in his podcast (Phillies Therapy) a while ago that Tommy Pham is off the table, for “reasons he couldn’t say.” Gelb has as direct a pipeline to the org as is humanly possible.
This “article” is just lazy clickbait reposting of a lazy reporter.
Since Pittsburgh’s theme song was “We are Pham-ily”, I believe it.
Pham would be booed like Santa Claus.
Yes, he’d be booed like a dirty, drunken, skinny Santa they grabbed out of the stands of Franklin Field 56 years ago. Excellent observation.
NO TOMMY PHGAMONEY
Reasons he couldn’t say? Pham’s stats should be reason enough not to trade for him.
This is not clickbait. MLB trade rumors literally exists to point out what baseball writers are saying. You certainly can take any report by Heyman as likely wrong but this site is allowed to tell people what “rumors” are out there. Might want to come off your high horse or just get your info somewhere else if you get this upset.
Nobody is upset. Rumors exist to be verified or debunked. In this case, the best local beat writer for the Phillies has debunked it.
Pham wont happen simply because he is not a clubhouse fit. Case closed.
Flyball…Looks like based on what you wrote Gelb said this “a while ago” ..things change…change is healthy sometimes
The Phillies aren’t going to trade for Tommy Pham. I don’t know what else to tell you other than the best local beat writer has said as much. The three targets are Canha, Ward and Thomas.
Totally agree. Things change. Also, if MLBTR was trying to create a “clickbait” article, it wouldn’t be about Tommy Pham.
Pay no attention to the writers. They often write what they are fed by the teams. Maybe DD wants to drive down the price by acting indifferent. These articles are all just for fun.
You are being completely false. This is what Gelb actually said.
“A look at MLBTR’s Top 50 Trade Candidates for the upcoming deadline reveals several right-handed hitting outfield options, and while top option Luis Robert Jr. is likely not in the cards for a club that appears to be looking for a smaller addition pieces like Tommy Pham, Kevin Pillar, or even Miguel Andujar could all capably fill the short-side platoon role the Phillies are looking to add a candidate for.”
This is what Gelb actually said from his recent article in The Athletic. How do you come on this site, accuse MLBTR writers of click bate and laziness and just straight up lie. The best case scenario is you are poorly informed because you read this article completely wrong.
He said it on his podcast. With his own mouth. Pham is not option for “reasons I can’t say.” That’s what he said. IDK what else to tell you.
THAT BUM HAS A PODCAST? BUM
I guess Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, Fansided, Phillies Nation, and others are all lazy too. They have the same reporting.
This is not those sites. I am literally repeating what their top beat writer said out loud on his podcast. I’m not sure what’s so difficult about that for some folks.
That your obsessed with one writer and it’s a little wierd.
It’s the top local Phillies source. Nobody is obsessed. What’s weird is how people are taking this so personally.
Another platoon guy? How about a centerfielder that can hit and play every day.
Towering fly ball is beat writers mommy
“What’s weird is how people are taking this so personally.”….you are the one still ranting and constantly using catch phrases like their top beat writer said out loud on his podcast” ….’his own words” Top local source”….when you are compelled to respond to everyone….that is taking it personally.
Isn’t that called a dialogue?
Not a constructive one.
A dialogue is normally an exchange of ideas and opinions…. a discussion between parties that is aimed at resolution. Responding the same way (almost) to anyone with a different opinion… repeating “but….but Matt said…” is in chatroom equivalent of Monty Python’s Argument Clinic (except that was funny).
AToweringFlyBall = Ruben Amaro Jr. burner account confirmed…
Things have changed since they let Merrifield go. Pham has a knack of being a clutch hitter, which he showed last year with the DBacks. I like seeing the better Sox players go to contenders. They deserve better than playing for the worst team in baseball for many years to come.
Nothing has changed since they released the worst hitter in baseball three games before the all star break.
Okay. You obviously listen to his podcast. Give me the link or which podcast number or however Gelb tabulates his podcast and I’ll even apologize if I can verify this info for myself. You can’t just expect us to take your word for it when this info that contradicts what you are saying is so readily available.
Why would I make up something he said? It’s either in “Motor City Memories” on 6/24 or “Zombie Lineup Blues” on 7/1. Maybe “Baltimore Chopped” on June 17. I don’t have time to find the time stamp to satisfy your demands. The host, Paul Boye, was talking to him about potential OFers and Pham was mentioned, and Gelb immediately said he was a non-starter “for reasons he couldn’t say.”
You have plenty of time to make multiple posts in response to this but not enough to post once with a URL?
I don’t have to explain why you would lie about this. The contradiction at this point looks clear.
Gotta love the “half the league reports interest in Tommy Pham” every couple months on mlbtraderumors. He then signs a minor league deal with the worst team in the league. He’s 36 years old with a .700 OPS.
That’s a .706 OPS worth an OPS+ of 102, so a league average bat. As a player off the bench that’s worth something.
Or maybe Matt Gelb is the lazy one, hmmmm?
How about the Giants Conforto for Carlos de la Cruz?
As has been reported many times, the Phillies have one of the best (if not the best) clubhouse in baseball, and Pham has a reputation for upsetting the status quo.
He does? ..do you have a source?
Well reported.
He got along great in the Mets clubhouse.
In other words….. NO
“Pham has a reputation for upsetting the status quo.”
No, he doesn’t. He was great on the Mets last year and was fantastic in the clubhouse for the DBacks through the playoffs. I’m not the biggest fan of his but the negative stuff about him is a bit overblown. Phillies have enough leaders where he would fit right into his role.
Yeah, he’s an intense hard worker. Really leads by example. Maybe that rubs some people the wrong way because he’s not a warm & fuzzy type, but from what I’ve observed, he’s now viewed as a distraction or negative force.
Fwiw, Pham is persona non grata in San Diego. Preller quickly dismissed the notion that Pham could be brought back in ’23 (pre-AZ trade.)
Or, maybe getting stabbed at a strip club, or getting into a fist fight over a rotisserie team might be considered a distraction.
Yes, agreed JB. Who knows the real reasons, but Pham was definitely not returning here.
8 teams in 7 years is suspicious.
Ya sure, you don’t seem motivated at all to say this article is lazy and false. Tell me about that thing where you said; “why would I lie?” I was open to you simply being misinformed. You were the one that went all personal and said that.
No on Pham!
If everyone is interested in him why did nobody sign him during the offseason? If many teams really are interested it seems like they want him around as little of the season as possible.
The Phillies have had advanced talks with the Oakland A’s regarding Brent Rooker. That is their main priority right now from what I’m hearing.
That’s also unlikely to happen per Gelb. Rooker has not played the field since May, and the guy they acquire has to be able to play left against the Braves lefties in the playoffs. They have Schwarber at DH and Rooker is as bad, if not worse, than Schwarber in the field.
The three most likely candidates for the corner OF spot are Canha, Ward and Thomas.
We all lived through Greg Luzinski, Pat Burrell, etc…..get the lead in the games with hitting and pitching and sub in a replacement for the late innings if needed.. Not saying you aren’t correct about Rooker not being the best in the outfield.
I’d love Rooker in the lineup. I’m just repeating what Gelb has said.
Someone’s got a man-crush on Matt Gelb.
Honestly, it’s a shock anyone else even needs to report on the Phils since he obviously is the only voice who matters.
The reality is that the Phillies probably didn’t want Pham, but it’s also true that opinions change, and so does urgency. If they get closer to the deadline and Pham is the guy, they pull Harper aside and say “hey, thoughts on Pham? Can we make it work in the clubhouse because our OF needs a bat to push us over the top.” Harper and the rest of the team can most likely make it work.
Not a man crush — literally the best local source on the team.
I get it, just not the ONLY source.
Heyman is notorious for being a rumor-mongerer based on what agents are feeding him. I trust the beat writer who sees the team every day and talks to the organization at an upper echelon every day than someone who doesn’t.
Is this Matt Gelb?
THIS is who dave should go for and they have a good picher also
them 2 for nick c and bag o jockstraps (used)
That sounds like a planted story.
And, even though it will never happen, the Phillies should be looking at Refsnyder.
Completely agree. According to Gelb, the three most likely candidates are Canha (who has good career numbers against Fried), Ward (9th highest exit velo against LHP) and Thomas (excellent splits; awful defender).
They are looking for an ultra-specific player who can start two games against Fried/Sale for Atlanta in a short series and/or pinch hit against Bummer.
Ward would be a nice choice, albeit more expensive.
“9th highest exit velo against LHP”? lol – really? Sounds like a reason to trade for someone. BTW – Pham is 72nd (against both sides) with overall exit velo of 90.6 – with Trea Turner 73rd, Mookie Betts 74th and Alec Bohm 76th. No one is trading for Ward because he has a good exit velo against lefties.
It’s a factor. Not the only one but certainly a factor. The Phillies are looking for a very specific player: someone who can hit Atlanta’s left handed pitching and play LF in a short series. It’s why they’re considering Canha: he’s 5/19 career off Fried with 2 HR, a double and 2 walks.
I don’t know, I just think you’re putting too much weight on that stuff. Pham is better against lefties than Canha and Ward, and a ‘less bad’ defender than Thomas. Also – he’s got 2 HRs in 9 ABs against Morton, so does that factor in?
It’s not me who’s putting weight into it. It’s the Phillies vis a vis their top beat writer.
Bummer? I mean he’s not even the Braves 2nd best lefty. Are they really planning their moves specifically looking at facing Atlanta? I’m not so sure.
This is what their top beat writer is reporting. They don’t want Marsh facing Sale, Fried, Bummer, etc, because he can’t hit lefties. Atlanta acquired those lefties in the off season with the Phillies lefty hitters specifically in mind. Most likely, the Phillies will need to beat Atlanta in a playoff series to advance, and this is the hole in their lineup that could prevent them from doing so. Both Schwarber and Harper hit lefties just fine, and Stott actually has reverse splits as well.
“Acquired those lefties with the Phillies in mind?” What? You mean Sale and Bummer? Bummer is barely holding a job. AJ Minter perhaps? Dylan Lee is quite good. The Braves acquired Chris Sale for the Phillies? They acquired Bummer because they liked him. The Braves bullpen was not in any way why they have been losing to the Phillies. I get that maybe Minter has struggled against a couple of guys perhaps. But we don’t even know if these teams will meet. If they do it’s just one series.
In all likelihood they acquired Bummer because Lee was coming off injury and was a question mark anyway and because they only have Minter locked up for one year but Bummer could be had for 2 more. Besides the fact that they always load up on relievers. Their pen is always stacked. And they obviously just like Bummer and believed in a bounceback and saw trading Nicky Lopez (and Soroka I think) as a way to essentially save money to reinvest it in a better player (Lopez was set to make about 4mil) and Soroka was set to make a decent bit for a bad pitcher. These things made the 7.5m options on Bummer seem cheaper as it’s a bit steep. Idk. Just thinking.
ATFB
“Stott actually has reverse splits as well.”
Very unlikely that Story actually is better vs lefties than righties. Probably just sample size noise.
That said, let’s look at the numbers, shall we
First, PA’s
Vs L: 328
Vs R: 987
So, yes, definitely lots of small sample weirdness is possible, especially vs lefties
Two of the most telling stats in small samples are BB and K rates
Vs L: 9.7% BB, 19.7% K, .49 BB/K
Vs R: 7.3% BB, 16.0% K, .46 BB/K
What we see there is no obvious advantage either way. That doesn’t support the idea that Stott has reverse splits, it supports the idea that he has smaller splits than most
OBP, ISO and wRC+ are the three best stats for measuring a player’s past performance. Let’s look at Stört
Vs L: 343/.107/102
Vs R: .308/.135/91
Scott does show a slight advantage vs lefties. But, again, small sample caveats
Hopefully one wouldn’t decorate that one hitter was definitely better than another based on fewer than 400 PA’s spread out over 3 seasons. Especially when the BB and K rates are so inconclusive. The safest bet her would still be to say “smaller solid than usual”
One could, here, look at things like exit velocity, barrel %< etc to see if there was a reason to believe more in that observed split. I'm not going to do that. If someone else wants to, go ahead, it would be interesting.
Upon deeper investigation, I see no reason to believe that Stott is likely to maintain what looks like a reverse split. He more likely has a smaller platoon split than most
His OBP and WRC+ are better against lefties. On base by 35 points and WRC+ by 11. Hardly an insignificant difference. .715 OPS vs. LHP vs. .695 vs RHP. I’d call that a reverse split literally because of what the numbers say — his numbers are better against lefties than righties, which is an anomaly for LH hitters.
ATFB
It’s like you didn’t read or understand a thing I said
Oh well.
I read your post and replied. His career numbers are better against lefties than righties. Nothing suggests that won’t continue.
ATFB
It’s like you didn’t understand anything I posted
There’s plenty to suggest that it won’t continue
But, I don’t have the will to teach you basic statistics at the moment
Incredibly his career against a LH Starter: 822 OPS, while against a RH Starter- 662 OPS. This is very possible to be a real thing. Some hitters can’t handle the ball that breaks in towards them well. Against lefties he’d see far less inside pitches.
Rishi
Thing is weird in a small sample isn’t really THAT incredible
fried is fried
He expects to miss about a week or two from what I’ve heard. No structural damage.
Red Sox not about to flip their leftie masher, especially to the Broad Street Bullies cousin…
Absolutely categorically no.
MLBTR should start doing stories about the teams that have no interest in particular players. A fresh angle to the reporting…..
They would write a story about the Reds daily in that case.
Don’t know why anyone would want to bring in Pham he seems very jerky to me.
If the Phillies are all in with Bohm for the long term, then our A. Miller is expendable. Rooker would look great in that lineup. Cost controllable as well. I’m not as concerned about the bullpen as others are. If there is a person out there to help round it out without giving up much cost, go for it. Miller on the A’s is going to be really expensive and hurt the depth in the minor league. I’d prioritize RH outfield bat.
Regardless of whether the Phillies are “all in” on Alec Bohm long term, if they believe Aiden Miller is an elite prospect who will play at a high level in MLB, they’ll find a place for him. No team that I know of has ever traded a player they believed to be elite because they had too many good players. If they perceive to get value for Miller, sure, but he’s not “expendable” in terms of they need to get rid of him because they have two third basemen.
With the DH maybe your usually right. But teams have and still do trade players because of positions being filled already. Maybe if they think they are elite they won’t but I think you are throwing the word elite around a lot there.
for get cost control they are loaded with money yo
get rooker period
Not sure the Phillies need to bring that personality into the clubhouse as they’re already rolling. I get that the Phillies OF is not that great but I don’t see Pham adding significant value.
i think he got zero peronality
@ jimmytheirish
The sentence has a few issues with grammar and spelling.
Original: “i think he got zero peronality”
Correction: “I think he got zero peronality”
Explanation: The pronoun “I” should always be capitalized in English.
Change from “got” to “has”:
Original: “I think he got zero peronality”
Correction: “I think he has zero peronality”
Explanation: Using “has” is more appropriate here to indicate possession in the present tense. “Got” is informal and less precise in this context.
Correction of “peronality” to “personality”:
Original: “I think he has zero peronality”
Correction: “I think he has zero personality”
You have to take what everyone says with a grain of salt. GMs, managers, writers, sources etc.
It is not always intentional deception/misdirection but sometimes it is.
For basic leverage sake in a negotiation you don’t want to say anything that will drive the price up.
You may also want to leak information to help your cause.
Things can change in a manner of days or hours as days go by as we get closer to the deadline.
GMs may have a list of potential players but after they go off the board they have to pivot to Plan B, Plan C etc.
They also give out false info to find the internal source of the leak.
@ybc
If anyone working that high up to know any serious info or be privy too and leaked info without an ok from the top brass is an idiot. Not saying it hasn’t happened but you got a job that most would kill for and you risk it for what, brownie points with a reporter and risk an awesome job just doesn’t seem logical to me. Then again we’ve seen more illogical things happen in sports so definitely in the realm of possibility
It happens all the time. Kevin Goldstein, who was in the Astros’ front office for years, became a staff writer for FG a few years ago. He’s with the Twins now. Goldstein was pretty insightful esp. with the draft process and F.O. inner workings. He talked about press leaks in one of his many chats.
@ybc
I agree that it does happen, my question is what level of stupid you have to be to leak without the ok
I think some people may believe they are so smart or slick they won’t get caught.
Like an overconfident bank robber.
They’ll muddy the waters by focusing suspicion on 2 or 3 other people.
Just like politics. Find a scapegoat game.
Hello all. I follow the Tigers. I am searching the web for a list of which draft picks have been signed and for how much. Last year I found a web site that tracked it and could follow it. I think the teams have to have them signed within 2 to 2 & 1/2 weeks. Any info anyone can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
MLB.com on the Tigers’ page would have that info.
go MATT VEIRLINGS
Crazy that if/when Pham gets traded, that team will be his 9th in just 11 yrs.
CANCER IN THE LOCKER ROOM SEND HIM TO YANKTHEES
No thank you
Pham is a cancer
When you are a leading contender for the World Series, as the Phillies are, you already have a very strong team with few, if any, big overall needs.
The additions you look for are very specific, and an addition that could be effective against certain pitchers you’d be likely to face later would be a legit target.
The Phils may be looking for as little as 50 specific at bats.
Pham could fit that need.
Of course, Pham has had some well publicized issues that may turn some orgs off. Some orgs rely on a well established culture. Some dont.
Does it count against the Phillies’ luxury tax salary if a team picks up all/most of a player’s remaining salary in exchange for a better prospect in return?
Perfectly acceptable.
Pham would be an instant fan-favorite in Philadelphia.
As a Philadelphian, I’m curious why you think so.
PUKE
Hard no on Pham.