What Will Tommy Pham Offer the White Sox After Surprising Trade Amid Playoff Push?
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Amid a postseason race, the Chicago White Sox have made a rather interesting trade for a veteran outfielder and member of the 2024 team.
The White Sox have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash considerations, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Pham will reportedly be elevated when the rosters expand to 28 on Tuesday.
How Can Trades Happen After the Deadline?
While the August 3 Trade Deadline has passed, teams can still make trades for players on minor league deals who are not on the 40-man roster. Pham was not on the Phillies' 40-man roster when he was acquired and therefore was eligible for this minor trade that could actually have major ramifications.
We will likely see more of these on Monday because players acquired after August 31 are not postseason eligible for the team that acquired them.
Who Is Tommy Pham?
The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Tommy Pham in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB Draft out of high school. He made his debut with the team in 2014 and has bounced around 10 major league squads in his 13-year career. He has accumulated 18.3 bWAR with a solid .256/.344/.421 slash line over his career.
He was a member of the historically bad 2024 White Sox team for 70 games. During that stint, he slashed .266/.330/.380 with Chicago, while hitting five home runs. He was traded at the trade deadline, along with Michael Kopech and Erick Fedde, for a package centered on 2026 All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas. Now, the White Sox have Fedde and Pham back on the team, which is pretty ironic.
Why Is This Important?
The White Sox are in the midst of a surprising postseason race. Pham can bring veteran leadership along with a right-handed bat off the bench. However, he is in his age-38 season and doesn't bring much in the way of a consistent bat or glove anymore.
Pham has not had an OPS+ above 100 since 2023. He will not be used as a defensive replacement with his below-average glove because of the acquisition of Brenton Doyle earlier this month, but he will likely be used as a pinch hitter in situations against left-handers. But isn't that what Doyle was brought in for?
In 2026 with the New York Mets, Pham went 0-for-13 with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Without quality numbers to showcase why he's worth bringing onto a postseason roster and his advanced age, this is a mystifying move by Chris Getz.
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Matthew Singer is a contributor for White Sox on SI. Before joining SI in 2026, he worked for Heavy as an MLB contributor and Cubs on SI. Singer has a master's degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He loves sports more than anything in the world.