Mets ship veteran Pham to D-Backs

The New York Mets traded outfielder Tommy Pham to the Arizona Diamondbacks for infield prospect Jeremy Rodriguez, both clubs announced Tuesday.

The Mets and Diamondbacks are splitting Pham’s salary for the rest of 2023, which is $1.7 million, reports Tim Britton of The Athletic.

Pham is the latest Mets player to be dealt amid a multi-day roster purge. The club has already traded Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Mark Canha, David Robertson, and Dominic Leone.

The 35-year-old Pham is enjoying a strong season, slashing .268/.348/.472 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs over 79 games.

Arizona’s outfield currently includes NL Rookie of the Year favorite Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez is just 17 years old and has yet to play above the Dominican Summer League.

Reds trade Pham to Red Sox

The Cincinnati Reds traded outfielder Tommy Pham to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the clubs announced Monday.

Pham, 34, is hitting .238/.320/.374 with 11 homers and seven stolen bases over 91 games this season.

Once an underappreciated corner outfielder, Pham has shown signs of regression in recent years. Despite owning a 118 career wRC+, he’s posted a 95 wRC+ over the past three seasons with 29 homers and 27 steals over 277 games.

Boston’s outfield ranks 27th this season by FanGraphs WAR. Alex Verdugo has struggled to a .269/.308/.376 slash line with six homers.

The Red Sox were second in the AL East as recently as July 11 but seem to have pivoted toward selling after plummeting to last place. They are reportedly sending long-time catcher Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros.

Reds agree to 1-year, $7.5M deal with Pham

The Cincinnati Reds agreed to a one-year, $7.5-million contract with outfielder Tommy Pham, a source told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale.

Pham’s reported deal includes a mutual option for the 2023 season.

His addition will provide the Reds with a middle-of-the-order bat, joining Jonathan India, Joey Votto, and Mike Moustakas. Pham should also help the Reds against left-handed pitching, thanks to an impressive .277/.403/.451 career slash line against southpaws.

The 34-year-old spent the past two seasons with the San Diego Padres, hitting .226/.335/.370 with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 20 steals. He was stabbed in the back outside of a San Diego strip club in October 2020 and lost some of his strength after requiring 200 stitches.

Before his time with the Padres, Pham played five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and a season-and-a-half with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He received MVP votes in 2017 with the Cardinals and was a big part of the Rays’ 2019 success when they went deep into the playoffs.

The Reds have turned over a big portion of their roster this offseason, trading Sonny Gray, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker, and Amir Garrett while adding Donovan Solano, Mike Minor, and Hunter Strickland.

Additionally, Nick Castellanos opted out of his contract with the Reds after an All-Star campaign. He recently signed a five-year, $100-million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pham interested in Rays reunion, open to playing 1st base

Several free agents will be looking for work when MLB’s lockout is over. One of them is Tommy Pham, who is interested in reuniting with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin.

Pham, who is reportedly open to playing first base, appeared in 184 games for the Rays between 2018-19 after the team acquired him in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 33-year-old outfielder slashed .287/.385/.485 with 28 home runs, 40 doubles, eight triples, 90 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases in 184 games with Tampa Bay. He also posted a .985 OPS, two homers, and 15 total bases in six postseason contests during the team’s 2019 playoff appearance.

The Rays traded Pham and Jake Cronenworth to the San Diego Padres for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and Esteban Quiroz before the 2020 season.

Pham didn’t play particularly well for San Diego, authoring a .226/.335/.370 slash line with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 20 steals in 186 games. Despite those numbers, it was reported in November that the Padres have discussed re-signing him.

Padres’ Pham plans to speak with MLB about fan abuse

San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham is tired of being taunted about an offseason incident in which he was stabbed outside of a strip club, and he plans to bring his concerns to Major League Baseball.

“I need to talk to MLB,” he said, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “The vulgarity this year, the gestures, I’ve never seen it at this level. I want to know if this is just because fans have been gone for a year and now they’re back and acting a certain way. That (stuff) shouldn’t be tolerated.”

Pham said it’s common for Petco Park fans to insult him about the incident, which resulted in the outfielder suffering what he called “catastrophic injuries” that required back surgery.

“Fans have been very disrespectful this year,” he said. “I actually saw a fan who was talking (trash) to me. I saw him outside the stadium. I said, ‘What’s up? You still want to talk that (trash)?’ He went completely blank. That just shows you people feel entitled.”

The 33-year-old said fan behavior during road games has been even worse. Pham had a spectator removed during a contest in Houston earlier this season for directing abusive language and gestures toward him.

Pham, who heard the brunt of the insults during an early-season slump, has turned things around lately, hitting .325/.460/.525 with five steals in 13 games in June.

If his work at the plate isn’t enough to silence the critics, Pham said he’ll tune them out as best as he can for now.

“I’m a strong individual,” he said.

Padres’ Pham: Stabbing could have left me ‘dead or paralyzed’

Tommy Pham is fortunate to be in the lineup for the San Diego Padres‘ first game of spring training Sunday after a stabbing in mid-October left the outfielder needing 200 stitches.

“The doctor here basically told me that if I wasn’t so muscular, I might be dead or paralyzed,” Pham said, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. “So I’m lucky to even be able to play. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play again.”

Pham, 32, needed surgery after he was stabbed in the back during an incident outside a San Diego strip club on Oct. 11. He sued Pacers Showgirls International for catastrophic injuries stemming from the altercation.

The seven-year veteran acknowledged he’s about 80% recovered but still struggles with back-related workouts such as squats and deadlifts. He said the incident reminded him not to take his career as a professional baseball player – and all the perks that come with it – for granted.

“I still look at everything about the same,” Pham said when asked if his perspective on life has changed. “If anything, I probably would just spend more money and stop saving as much. Because if I died, I would feel like I had too much money in the bank and didn’t live enough.”

Padres’ Pham sues strip club for ‘catastrophic injuries’ after stabbing

Tommy Pham sued a strip club Tuesday after he was stabbed last month, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The incident occurred Oct. 11 outside Pacers Showgirls International in San Diego.

The San Diego Padres outfielder stated in the lawsuit that he suffered “catastrophic injuries, which have and will continue to cause him significant economic damage, including but not limited to his earning capacity as an elite professional baseball player.”

The 32-year-old underwent surgery for a stab wound in his back following the incident. The Padres described the injury as non-life-threatening.

According to Pham’s lawsuit, the stabbing took place after a fight broke out in the club’s parking lot.

Pham said the establishment’s security team escalated and participated in the fight, which increased the risk to him, per the lawsuit.

The major leaguer also believes the club’s employees didn’t contact police or try to mitigate the dangers, and that the business failed to take preventative measures despite a history of violent incidents.

Police have yet to announce any arrests in connection to the stabbing.

Padres’ Pham stabbed in San Diego, expected to make full recovery

San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham underwent surgery after being stabbed on Sunday, the team said in a statement obtained by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Pham was stabbed in his lower back during an altercation in San Diego. The stab wound pierced all three layers of his skin and he required stitches. Fortunately, there was no organ damage; the Padres said he is now in “good condition” and “is expected to make a full recovery.”

“The San Diego Police Department is actively investigating the incident and we will have no further comment at this time,” the Padres’ statement concluded.

“I’d like to thank the incredible medical staff at UC San Diego Health for taking such great care of me last night,” Pham said in a statement released by the team. “I truly appreciate the hard work of the (San Diego Police Department) as well as they continue their search for the suspects. While it was a very traumatic and eye-opening experience for me, I’m on the road to recovery and I know I’ll be back to my offseason training routine in no time.”

The incident took place when Pham was leaving a San Diego establishment and came across an argument taking place near his car, two people who spoke to the outfielder told Acee. Pham, who didn’t know either of the people involved in the argument, supposedly asked them to move away from his car, leading to the situation escalating.

Suspects have yet to be identified by police.

Pham, 32, was acquired by the Padres from the Tampa Bay Rays last winter. The seven-year veteran only appeared in 31 regular-season games this summer due to a fractured hamate bone, but returned late in the year and tallied nine hits in the playoffs.

Padres acquire Pham from Rays

The San Diego Padres have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham and an additional prospect from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Hunter Renfroe and shortstop prospect Xavier Edwards, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The additional player heading to San Diego is minor-league shortstop Jake Cronenworth, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

Pham, acquired by the Rays in a 2018 trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, played a vital role in the club’s run to the postseason this year. The 31-year-old slashed 273/.369/.450 with 21 home runs and 68 RBIs in 145 games. He’ll provide San Diego with significant and much-needed upgrades in terms of contact and on-base ability.

Cronenworth, 25, spent the majority of the 2019 season with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate. He hit .334/.429/.520 with 10 home runs in 406 plate appearances, also getting 7.1 innings of work on the mound.

Renfroe should be a defensive improvement for Tampa Bay and will bring some additional power to the lineup. He’s hit 85 home runs over the past three seasons despite not topping 500 plate appearances once.

Edwards was the No. 5-ranked prospect in San Diego’s stacked system, according to MLB Pipeline. The No. 38 pick in 2018 split his season between the Single-A and High-A levels, flashing solid contact and plate discipline to the tune of a .322/.375/.396 line and a 9.6% strikeout rate.