Former Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays OF Tommy Pham Inks Deal with National League Team

Pham, who was traded from the White Sox last season, has signed a $4 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chicago White Sox right fielder Tommy Pham (28) cannot catch a double hit by Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Globe Life Field in 2024.
Chicago White Sox right fielder Tommy Pham (28) cannot catch a double hit by Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Globe Life Field in 2024. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Veteran outfielder Tommy Pham has agreed to a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, per multiple reports on Thursday.

Pham's deal is worth $4 million, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The 36-year-old Pham is an 11-year veteran of the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, White Sox, and Kansas City Royals. He's bounced around a ton over the last three seasons, but he enjoyed stability at the beginning of his career, playing his first 5.5 years in St. Louis and his next 1.5 in Tampa.

Lifetime, Pham is a .258 hitter with 139 homers and 126 stolen bases. He hit a career-high 23 homers for the Cardinals in 2017 and has six seasons of double-digit homers to his name.

The White Sox signed him before the 2024 season and he became a trade chip for them in the midst of the worst season in modern baseball history. He hit .266 for Chicago with five homers.

With the Pirates, he'll look to provide veteran leadership alongside Andrew McCutchen. Pittsburgh is coming off a season in which they finished last in the National League Central. They haven't made the playoffs since 2015, but they finally have something to be excited about with reigning Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and fireballer Jared Jones.

Furthermore, the Pirates have another top pitching prospect waiting in the wings: Bubba Chandler.

Major league teams report to spring training next week and the regular season begins on March 27.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.