Pirates Sign Former Royals Outfielder
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PITTSBURGH — The Pirates have made few free agent signings this offseason, but added some depth to their outfield for 2025.
Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Pirates signed outfielder Tommy Pham to a one-year, $4 million deal. They also reported that it is a major league deal, with $250,000 in incentives.
Free-agent outfielder Tommy Pham is in agreement on a one-year, $4 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, multiple sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me. https://t.co/vwBbLkb2lp Journeyman outfielder Tommy Pham signs 1-year deal with Pittsburgh Pirates: Sources
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) February 6, 2025
The Pirates showed interest in Pham, who is now 37 years old, prior to last season, but he would eventually sign a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox.
Pham slashed .266/.330/.380 for the White Sox in 70 games, before they traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals, prior to the trade deadline. Pham slashed .206/.286/.368 in 23 games for the Cardinals, who then designated him for assignment on Aug. 30.
The Kansas City Royals eventually signed him off waivers on Aug. 31, where he hit .228/.250/.337. in 23 games. He also played in their postseason run, with 5 hits in 15 at-bats for a .333 batting average with two RBI.
Pham came up through the Cardinals minor league system, as they took him in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB Draft, with a $325,000 signing bonus, forgoing his college commitment to Cal State Fullerton.
He eventually made it to the MLB on Sept. 7, 2014 and spent the majority next four seasons with the Cardinals, 2015-18.
His best season in the MLB came in 2017, where he slashed .306/.411/.520, with 22 doubles, 23 home runs, 73 RBI, 25 stolen bases, 71 walks to 117 strikeouts in 128 games.
The Cardinals traded Pham to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 31, 2018 during the trade deadline, where he spent the rest of that campaign and the 2019 season.
The Rays then traded Pham to the San Diego Padres on Dec. 6, 2019, where he played the next two seasons, but never hit above .230.
Pham then spent the 2022 season with the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox, plus the 2023 season with New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Pirates will serve as Pham's 10th team that he's played for in his MLB career. He has slashed .258/.346/.427, possesses an OPS of .773 and has 985 hits, 183 doubles, 24 triples, 139 home runs, 470 RBI, 126 stolen bases and 489 walks to 1,028 strikeouts.
Pham will likely have a platoon role with the Pirates, alongside other outfielders in All-Star Bryan Reynolds, Andrew McCutchen and Oneil Cruz.
The Pirates make Pham their third notable free agent signing with a bat, alongside McCutchen for $5 million for one year and bringing back second baseman Adam Frazier on a one-year, $1.525 million deal as well. They also traded for infielder Spencer Horwitz back in December.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.