The Cincinnati Reds have traded Tommy Pham according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Jim Bowden, also of The Athletic was the first to report that Pham was heading to the Boston Red Sox.
The Tommy Pham era in Cincinnati is always going to be remembered for one thing: The time he slapped Joc Pederson in the face before a game between the Reds and the San Francisco Giants over a year-old fantasy football rules issue (and reportedly some trash talk on the San Diego Padres from the previous season in the fantasy football group text).
While we will never be able to scrub our brains with enough bleach to erase the insanity of that story, Pham had some success at the plate in Cincinnati. He also had some struggles, too. The outfielder had a big month of June, hitting .283/.362/.511 with six home runs. But he followed that up by hitting just .204/.255/.245 in July with three extra-base hits and none of them were home runs. July drug his season line down to .238/.320/.374. He did hit left-handed pitching well, posting an OPS of .834 against them, so he could likely provide good value against lefties.
The return for Tommy Pham isn’t yet known. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that the Reds will be receiving a player to be named later in the deal (the Reds later announced it would be a player to be named later or cash considerations).
This move opens up a spot on the roster. Aristides Aquino seems like the guy most likely to take the spot on the active roster as his rehab assignment ends tomorrow and he would either need to return or be designated for assignment. He’s hitting .310/.408/.667 in 12 rehab games with Triple-A Louisville. The team could also recall Stuart Fairchild or TJ Friedl from the minors (or taxi squad in the case of Fairchild). We’ll find out tomorrow what the move happens to be. We’ll be waiting a while longer, probably, to find out which player will be coming over from the Red Sox.
You mean the Reds get something back too?
Wait, There’s more. Maybe some Ginsu steak knives?
A Year supply of turtle wax? Or Rice-a-Roni the San Francisco Treat?
Rice-a-Roni is a bit much. Just rice might be good enough for the R. Sox and just one coat of turtle wax
Probably saying a PTBNL for now to lock the trade as a done deal and will dicker and bicker for some period of time about how much net return value is due given Pham is still owed about $3m for 2 months’ salary and the 2023 option buyout.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see it end up as “cash considerations”; and, we will never know how much moved in which direction.
Baltimore sure got more than I expected for 2 months of Trey Mancini. While the Mariners are signing any designated hitter available to hand onto their remaining prospects. Interested to see return for Pham, Solano, & Drury. Would like to keep Mahle – and Drury with reasonable extensions but doesn’t seem likely (sigh).
I can’t get on board regarding keeping Mahle or extending him. He is just bad at GABP. I certainly don’t think locking him up for $60-$90 million makes any sense at all. He’s the best SP we have currently, but hardly an ace or SP1. He’s a low end SP2 or high end SP3 with little consistency.
Will we be worse off in rotation without him, sure. Will he be worth the contract he’d accept, highly unlikely, at least not while pitching in Cincinnati. If he went to S.F. where all pitchers improve, then yeah, he’d be worth it.
I think he will be traded within the next 24 hours, but if not, he will be traded this winter.
Even if the Red-Sox doesn’t send anyone back, it’s the best trade since we acquired Joe Morgan.
Agreed-he is not the veteran presence you want on a young team
Or an elderly team or any type of team in between.
Saw the lineup three hours ago and thought the Reds were asleep since the Castillo trade. Little did I know …
Pham for a lottery ticket is fine.
I am OK even if it’s literally lottery ticket…a scratch off.
Pham: This team is only one or two players away from being playoff caliber.
Reds’ Front Office: What?! We are competitive NOW! Away with you Pham!
I have always lived by the rule “Once a Red, always a Red”. I now formally recognize the “Tommy Pham” exception.
The Revenge tour continues…
Put Jim “Freakin” Edmonds in that category too.
Jim Edmonds was never a Red. That is a horrible lie people like to tell
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/edmonji01.shtml 2010. Yes, he was.
I refuse to accept this
The “Mandela Effect” can explain people thinking Edmonds was a Red. Just like Ed McMahon never worked for Publishers Clearinghouse and It is pronounced Berstain Bears…even though Google doesn’t remember it that way bc it just tried to correct me.
Revenge tour comment has to be one of the worst of the season. Really glad this guy is gone.
Oh ps. Castellini is pushing hard for cash considerations. Rubs hands together. Money, money, money!!!!
Didn’t we get catcher Christian Vasquez for Pham?
No, he was traded to Houston.
I’m hoping the reds get Ronaldo Hernandez or Frank German back. Doubt it’ll be that much value though
Hope it is Reece McGuire. A catcher the Red Sox just got from the white Sox.
the public masturbation guy?
Yep. Ol’ Spanky!
They like shortstops, maybe they got Jeter Downs back.
Downs was just demoted and the Boston papers cited his 51% strikeout rate.
51%? Whoa.
“While we will never be able to scrub our brains with enough bleach to erase the insanity of that story”.
Hahaha
PTBNL
Or “cash consideration”. Hmmm wonder which one the Reds will choose?
The always popular PTBNL.
David Bell is depressed about the 3rd spot in the lineup I’m sure. “What do I do now?”
Once in high school, we were playing tackle football at our stadium on a muddy, nasty, cold November Saturday. After what seemed like hours neither team could score and we were tired, wet, and freezing. Our HS kicker was on the other team. We were in field goal range. So we offered to buy the other team a bucket of chicken in trade for kicker so he could attempt a 25 yard FG and we could all get out of there. Well, we got the kicker and he put it between the uprights and we all went home soaked laughing our rear ends off. He’s never lived down getting traded for bucket of chicken.
The Reds’ brass had two million reasons to trade Pham. What more do we expect in return?
Pham is solid defensively, has performed better at the plate than a few of their current outfielders, and has a mutual option for next season. The reds might be able to get a little value here. Ranaldo Hernandez (#23 in their system) would be excellent and would likely slot in as Stephensons backup next year but that’s probably asking too much. Either a low A lottery ticket like Naquin got or someone who can help the bullpen next year like Frank German #28 in their system is probably more realistic
I hope the Red Sox understand they’re required to hit him third whenever he’s in the lineup. Otherwise, someone’s gonna get slapped.
I like that.
Lol +1000
Pham is the prototypical slap hitter.
The Red Sox probably understand that batting order is not very important except to older fans who grew up thinking that it was.
Clever post! Spot on. Be interesting to see where Cora bats him.
Guessing Friedl gets the call. Hit .343 in July. Doesn’t strike out 40% of the time.
On the rehab assignment, Aquino’s OPS has been >1.000 and incredibly his OBP (.408) has been higher than his K rate (.376) in 49PAs
I’m with you Jim, but Aquino’s April in CIN was an .049 AVG and a 53.5% K%. He is also out of options. Reds need to look at Aquino as a bench player and defensive replacement. Perhaps the vLHRP side of a platoon. He is the star of Trouble with the Curve. No offense to the Punisher.
I saw where the Nature Boy Ric Flair just wrestled his last match at age 73 and was just wondering if the Reds would just forget about the PTBNL and go for a match between Flair and Pham at GABP.You know Flair along with his figure 4 leg lock was famous for his slap to the chest of his opponent.Not sure if Flair is in to fantasy football but could be a good story line leading up to the match.Just an idea.
Flair comes out to the theme of 2001 a space oddity, Pham to the theme of the three stooges.
Yeah why not.My idea and your music.Reckon we could get some of the gate?
The return maybe is likely a player with Nick Quintana profile or a average mid-level reliever …
I’m definitely guessing a pitcher, probably with control problems. Somehow seems like a fair trade for Pham (couldn’t resist). To be fair, Tommy Pham always hustled his butt off and gave us a legit left-field defensive presence. Wishing him nothing but the best.
Nick Decker would be a nice return
Potential Sep rotation:
Minor
Lodolo
Dunn
Dugger
Lively
September could be tough for CIN. Chance to match the ’82 team.
Overton is probably back by then too.
Lively has not pitched in 6 weeks
Reds can only add 2 to the roster (26 to 28) in September.
Bullpen going into 2023 consist of the following:
Cessa (non-contender candidate; otherwise Arb 3 year)
Antone
Diaz
Dunn
Hoffman
Kuhnel (unless they try to clear him through waivers)
Moreta
Sanmartin
Santillan
Sims (if healthy)
Solomon (unless they try to clear him through waivers)
Warren
CIN will probably maintain 11-12 RP’s on their 40MR. The above list is 12. It features 1 LHRP. There are probably guys that need added to the 40MR this winter from the AA or AAA rosters too.
This is really an area the Bull needs to address.
Krall said Aquino joins the Reds tomorrow
He also said that Drury extension not on the table right now
When a GM says right now he literally means right now this minute. Things could change after the deadline.
Pham’s first interview with the Boston media says he thinks the Red-Sox are “one or two players away”
A 36 year old player ingratiating himself with his new team in hope of getting a final contract.
So how many more trades are we going to see yet. I’m thinking 2 Mahle and either Drury or Solano. I think one of them stays. If anyone else is traded, I would be surprised.
Krall did me a huge favor by trading Pham. Now I don’t have to watch Bell roll him out batting 3rd anymore. Had no business being there. Now maybe he can move Strickland so I don’t have to watch 9th inning implosions anymore.
Amen to that. Better to put a softball pitcher out there. Last nights 9th was a horror show that somehow ended well.
Guys, some of the trades of the past 24 hours have hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t fully realize just how much in trouble our game is until now.
Milwaukee, in first place, trades its best reliever, and arguably the best reliever in the game, to a team that it may very well face in the National League playoffs.
Baltimore, very much in the wild card race, trades the face of its team (Trey Mancini) and its All-Star reliever, Jorge Lopez.
In each case, it’s for the revered “prospects.”
Can you imagine if in the early 2010s the Reds were in first place in August and traded Aroldis Chapman for prospects?
Something tells me that as we move further down this road, we might see something like that in a few years from the Reds. The day that happens is the day I might just have to walk away, and that’s something that you don’t say when you’ve been a diehard fan for 49 years.
But when it becomes clear that acquiring “prospects” trumps winning today, then baseball is really no different than professional wrestling in my book.
I just had to vent.
I understand. That’s one reason why we should enjoy Joey Votto. He might be our only Hall Of Famer for a good long while. Anyone else, no matter how good they are, will not make it. They simply won’t be here long enough.
It is interesting to see the Brewers and Orioles make those trades.
In my view this goes back to the recent CBA, in part. As many noted in the CBA negotiations this winter, while the MLBPA “claimed” to be concerned about increasing competition, their positions were largely in contrast to that goal. Instead of supporting a salary floor (as MLB proposed), which would have greatly increased required spending by lower level teams such as the Rays, Orioles, A’s, Indians, Pirates (and soon to be Reds) etc, they rejected that and instead wanted an increase to the upper luxury tax level as their top priority. So in other words, their actual position on that topic was an increase to top level with no floor, and that only served to increase disparity in spending between revenue rich teams and those in the bottom tier.
Both sides had an opportunity to fix the competition issue in MLB in the latest CBA, and both sides failed. Now we are seeing the results of that failure.
Tom, the Brewers traded their closer for the Padres closer AND prospects. The Orioles are more puzzling–just out of the Wild Card, but in 4th place in their division–toughest division in baseball. They are also one game out of last place and will face their division opponents (including the juggernaut Yankees) multiple times.
I agree with Allthehype’s post above. What’s really sad, is neither the players nor owners seem to realize they have a problem that is getting worse not better. The NBA is experiencing 10%+ revenue growth with expectations it will continue for the rest of the decade–they will pass MLB in that time. The disparity in the resources among franchises is ridiculous for what is supposed to be a game which by definition should have rules allowing teams to compete on a level playing field.
Going to an MLB game will remain a cherished experience. After all, any team can beat any other team on any given night. MLB won’t die, but fans in the smaller markets will continue to become less and less invested and America’s pastime will become just another among many entertainment options.
Major league soccer is one of those entertainment options. Cincinnati, the birthplace of professional baseball, has a new outstanding MLS stadium in the West End.