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Tommy Pham inks one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Chris Georges | Last updated Feb 6, 2025 7:16 PM ET

Free agent outfielder Tommy Pham signed a one-year deal earlier today with the Pittsburgh Pirates that will pay him $4 million for the 2025 season, with incentives able to push it up to $4.25 million.

After spending the first four and a half seasons of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, the 37-year-old has become a true journeyman in the last few years. He has seen action with seven teams in the last three seasons, including three last year alone. This is partly because he has started each of those seasons with uncompetitive teams, only to find a new home around the trade deadline.

He was notably a key member of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ surprising run to the World Series in 2023, carrying a .772 OPS across 16 postseason games.

Tommy Pham signs with the Pirates; he'll hit some milestones with Pittsburgh, presumably.
Needs 15 hits for 1,000 in his career.
Needs 11 homers to reach 150.
With 17 doubles, he'll reach 200.
And here's a biggie: With 9 yrs, 92 days of service time, he'll reach 10 years in '25.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 6, 2025

The 2024 season ranks on the lower side of Pham’s career, slashing just .248/.305/.368 across 116 games. The subpar numbers led to a -0.2 bWAR, the only time he’s produced a negative in his career while playing in at least 100 games. The Pirates clearly think that he can bounce back, as he has established himself as a veteran who can help out in several ways. Although he showed some signs of slowing down in 2024 (just seven steals), he swiped 22 bases in 25 attempts as recently as 2023.

You can’t mention Tommy Pham’s name without also mentioning some of the off-the-field incidents that have followed him throughout his career. Whether it was his slap of Joc Pedersen over a fantasy football dispute, getting stabbed outside of a San Diego strip club, or publicly offering to fight former teammate Luke Voit, Pham seems to have a knack for being in the news for something. That being said, he’s been lauded as a great clubhouse presence and player who will (literally and figuratively) fight for his teammates, which explains why he’s had so many playing opportunities late into his thirties.

The six-foot-one outfielder will join a Pirates team that finished last in the NL Central in 2024. However, with a young nucleus that includes Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, they could be poised for a competitive season. If they find themselves out of the race by July, there’s a very strong chance that Pham will find himself on another team to finish out the year.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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