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.