2024 Year in Review: Tommy Pham

Lonely is a Pham without a team

When Kansas City selected Tommy Pham off waivers on August 31, 2024, the Royals became Pham’s ninth team in his 11-year career, which includes two different stints with the cross-state St. Louis Cardinals.

He remains a free agent.

Last offseason, Pham didn’t sign with a team until April, when he put pen to paper with the White Sox. Chicago’s American League squad would be Pham’s first of three over the course of the season.

This continues a weird trend for Pham. In every year season since 2022, Pham’s played for multiple teams during the course of the season. During his career, he’s accomplished—if that’s the right word—that feat four times.

The man’s just so damn popular!

Truly, though, teams sought his presence last year on multiple occasions. He began with the woebegone White Sox, a team that was [checks notes] not good. Then, on July 29, as part of a three-team, eight-player trade, he returned to the team that drafted him, the St. Louis Cardinals, who at the time were fighting for the playoffs.

When they fell out of contention, St. Louis waived him. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Royals.

Pham appeared in only 23 games for the Royals, garnering 101 at-bats in which he slashed .228/.250/.337. That .587 OPS landed 36% below league-average. Of his three teams, he slashed the lowest with the Royals (compared to .710 for the Pale Hose and .653 for the Birds).

He returned to the playoffs for the second consecutive season after reaching the World Series with the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. He played often in the post-season that year, suiting up for 16 games in which he collected 64 plate appearances. In that time, he collected 17 hits, among them three doubles and three home runs.

His 2024 regular season with the Royals: 23 hits, three doubles, and two home runs.

But, give Pham credit where it’s due: he showed up in the playoffs, especially in the final game of the team’s season. He went 5-for-15 in October for the Royals, appearing in all six of their games, getting a start in Game Four of the ALDS, in which he collected a hit in all three of his at-bats. The rest of the starting lineup combined for just as many as the Yankees ended the Royals’ season, 3-1.

Now Pham, who turns 37 in March, is once again without a team.

I’m sure he’ll sign somewhere, maybe not until well into spring training, and maybe that deal will be a minor-league contract.

Regardless, he’ll become one of those rare dudes to play for ten different franchises. That’s kind of cool.

Season Grade (for the Royals): C-