With Spring Training around the corner, the Pirates made another move towards improving their MLB roster on February 6. Veteran outfielder Tommy Pham is set to join the Pirates, likely filling out their outfield to play alongside Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds.
A Look at Pham
Veteran outfielder Tommy Pham didn’t latch on to a MLB team until April of last season, signing with a White Sox team that needed help in their outfield. Pham made it to the Majors after four tune-up games and did reasonably well for the team, hitting .266/.330/.380 with 20 extra-base hits over 70 games.
Pham then was on the shuttle across Missouri last summer. The 36-year-old went back to the Cardinals in the three-way deal that involved Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech, then DFA’d a month later before the August 31 postseason roster deadline. Pham was claimed off waivers by Kansas City.
He posted sub-.700 figures with both Kansas City and St. Louis.
The 36-year-old has long put up high Hard Hit% figures over his career. Pham hovered around 50% in 2022-23 and despite a lower 42.7% one in 2024, was still well above the league-average. However, Pham’s not a home run hitter.
Yes, he will get a hold of balls on an occasional basis. However, Pham has success when he stays short — his 6.9” mean swing length was shorter than league-average — and stays to the middle of the field, without going for launch angle. Pham hits fastballs well and has largely been an above-average line-drive hitter.
The 36-year-old has bounced around a lot over the last three seasons. Pham played for seven teams (Reds, Red Sox, Mets, Diamondbacks, Royals, Cardinals, & White Sox) over the last three years. But because he’s a versataile player who gets on base — his career OBP is .346 — Pham has latched on to successful teams over the years.
Defensively, Pham has always had a plus arm and good speed, both valuable assets. However, he’s often been an outfielder bitten by bad reads. Nonetheless, Pham played all three outfield positions last season and profiles best as a corner.
Per reports, the Pirates will sign Tommy Pham to a one-year deal worth $4.05MM.
Analysis
The addition of Pham gives the Pirates a potential outfielder of Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz, and Pham.
He is another right-handed bat, something Pittsburgh had plenty of to begin with. The Pirates’ tenative 2025 roster is likely to include Endy Rodriguez (switch) and Joey Bart, plus Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Nick Gonzales, Andrew McCutchen, and Bryan Reynolds (switch).
However, as noted, Reynolds and Rodriguez are switch-hitters.
Pham has been a reliable hard-hit machine for much of his career and gets on base, both of which the Pirates need. Pittsburgh finished 27th last season in OPS, as the team’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage ranked in the bottom-five of the league. Pham doesn’t hit a ton of home runs but stands to be an improvement from what Pittsburgh had in 2024.
Outfielder Jack Suwinski took a step back last season, as he chased more, walked less, and posted just a .588 OPS on the year. Suwinski is still an interesting piece, thanks to his power/speed combo. But, Pham has been the more reliable.
In other Pirates-related news, the team announced their Spring Training non-roster invite list this past week.
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