Arizona Diamondbacks acquire OF Tommy Pham from Mets
Aug 1, 2023, 2:57 PM | Updated: Aug 2, 2023, 11:51 am
Tommy Pham #28 of the New York Mets hits an RBI double to left field in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field on July 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham from the New York Mets, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.
In return, the D-backs are giving up 17-year-old prospect Jeremy Rodriguez, per azcentral’s Nick Piecoro. Rodriguez does not rank on MLB Pipeline’s top-30 D-backs prospects and is currently at the rookie ball level after signing with them in January.
Pham, 35, is a 10-year veteran who will now be playing on his seventh MLB team. For the Mets this year, Pham is hitting .268 with an .820 OPS, 10 home runs, 36 RBIs, 15 doubles and 11 stolen bases.
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Pham is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
A right-handed bat was mentioned as a possible addition by general manager Mike Hazen ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
The D-backs’ outfield is full of left-handed hitters, an area of the depth chart offseason acquisition Kyle Lewis was theoretically supposed to help in, but he has spent the majority of the season in Triple-A. Pham could also slot in at designated hitter, where left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has logged the most starts for the D-backs.
That outfield includes a trio of young, talented left-handed hitters: Corbin Carroll (22 years old), Jake McCarthy (26) and Alek Thomas (23).
Hazen had a busy trade deadline, dealing three players to the Seattle Mariners for closer Paul Sewald on Monday before sending Andrew Chafin to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Peter Strzelecki.
Pham was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. He spent four-and-a-half seasons with them before getting traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, where he would stay until the end of the 2019 season. That’s when he was traded to the San Diego Padres and spent two seasons in California.
After becoming a free agent for the first time and signing with the Cincinnati Reds in March 2022, Pham was traded for the third time in his career last August, going to the Boston Red Sox. He entered free agency again last offseason and signed with New York. The move to Arizona is the fourth time Pham has been traded and the third occasion to come right before the deadline.
