Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder Tommy Pham Leaves Spring Training Game With Hip Injury

Tommy Pham hit a solo home run off of Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on Sunday, but the Pittsburgh Pirates veteran had to check out of the game due to left hip tightness.

Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates outfield Tommy Pham (28) participates in spring training workouts at Pirate City. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham left Sunday's spring training game against the Detroit Tigers with left hip tightness, the team announced.

Pham started in left field and was 1-for-2 at the plate when he got pulled with one out in the bottom of the third inning. The leadoff man logged an outfield assist in the second, then went yard for a solo home run off of Tarik Skubal in the third.

As Pham put it, he doesn't view his injury as particularly serious at the moment.

"In the season, I'd play through it. In the season, I don't miss any time with this," Pham said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Andrew Destin. "It's just because it's second week of March, spring training, you don't have to push it."

Tarik Skubal is human.

Tommy Pham hits a solo home run off Skubal’s 96 mph fastball to right field in the third inning. Exit velocity: 96.6 mph. Distance: 356 feet.

A home run in 26 of 30 MLB parks, including Comerica Park. #Tigers pic.twitter.com/fs6j5zZyrG

— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) March 9, 2025

The Pirates inked Pham to a one-year, $4.025 million contract last month, just as spring training was getting underway. He has hit .222 with an .851 OPS through nine Grapefruit League contests, with his homer on Sunday standing out as his first extra-base hit this spring.

Pham has yet to carve out a consistent home since breaking out with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, bouncing around to 10 teams in eight seasons. He posted one of the least productive campaigns of his career in 2024, batting .248 with a .674 OPS and -0.2 WAR across 116 games with the Chicago White Sox, Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.

The veteran turned 37 years old on Saturday.

With Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds set to start alongside Pham this season, Pittsburgh has Joshua Palacios and utility man Adam Frazier in place as their bench outfielders.

The Pirates resume Grapefruit League play against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. After facing the New York Yankees on Tuesday, Pittsburgh will get the day off Wednesday.

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