The Pittsburgh Pirates addressed a glaring need but did so by adding a 36-year-old outfielder who has played for nine teams in 11 seasons, including five trips to the postseason.
A source confirmed to TribLive that the Pirates agreed to terms with Tommy Pham on a one-year, $4.025 million contract to join an outfield that features starters in two-time All-Star Bryan Reynolds and converted center fielder Oneil Cruz. The signing was first reported by The Athletic.
The right-handed hitting Pham, who turns 37 on March 8, has a career .258/.346/.427 slash line with 139 home runs and 470 RBIs. He batted .248/.305/.368 with 20 doubles, three triples, nine homers and 39 RBIs in 116 games for three teams last season.
Pham started with the Chicago White Sox before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline. When the Cardinals were out of playoff contention, he was released three weeks later and joined the Kansas City Royals. Pham hit .455 (5 for 11) with two RBIs in four games against the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series.
The 6-foot-1, 223-pound Pham can play all three outfield positions, though the majority of his starts (612) have come in left field. He played 54 games in right, 37 in left and 30 in center last season. Pham will compete with lefty hitters Ji Hwan Bae, Billy Cook, Adam Frazier, Joshua Palacios and Jack Suwinski for playing time in one of the outfield corner spots this spring. Frazier signed a one-year, $1.525 million deal last week to return to the Pirates.
