Padres outfielder Tommy Pham underwent surgery to repair a a tear of the triangular fibrocartilage complex in his left wrist at some point in the past couple of months, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The specific timing of the procedure remains unclear. The Padres did not announce the surgery at the time it was performed.
Pham, according to Rosenthal, is already lifting weights but has yet to swing a bat since undergoing this latest surgery. He had surgery on the same wrist back in August after suffering a fractured hamate bone when he was hit by a pitch, and he also underwent surgery after a frightening incident in early October wherein Pham was stabbed in the lower back. The Padres announced at the time that Pham was in “good condition” following that surgery, and Pham now tells Rosenthal that this latest wrist procedure has improved his grip strength.
A third surgery and, more importantly, Pham’s recovery from said procedure are all the more noteworthy given that the 32-year-old outfielder is up for arbitration for the final time this offseason. The Padres have until tomorrow evening to determine whether they’ll tender a contract to Pham, whom they acquired alongside Jake Cronenworth last winter in a trade that sent Hunter Renfroe, top prospect Xavier Edwards and minor league infielder Esteban Quiroz to the Rays.
Pham struggled to the worst performance of his career in San Diego, slashing just .211/.312/.312 through 125 plate appearances. Of course, if the current wrist issue was bothering him during the season and impacting his grip strength, that would of course explain the downturn at the plate — at least to some extent. Pham’s track record is quite strong — evidenced by a .284/.381/.475 slash in 410 games from 2017-19 — and a healthy Pham would make for an appealing bounceback candidate.
However, that same track record calls Pham’s future with the Padres into question, as it’s also the reason that he earned $7.9MM in arbitration this past season. Pham could see a nominal uptick from that rate in the arb process, and he would at least be a candidate to simply repeat that salary in 2021. Given the uncertainty surrounding his health, however, he stands out as a potential non-tender candidate prior. If the Padres don’t plan to tender a contract to Pham, then they’ve likely already been shopping him in recent days and will continue to do so in the hours leading up to tomorrow night’s deadline.
Interesting that news of an additional surgery was leaked the day prior to the non-tender deadline.
Preller. Ethics. Do the math.
Pham’s wild night at the strip club is going to cost him big….
Especially since we now know he messed up his wrist.
Messed up his wrist when? This guy is a distraction at this point. I would look elsewhere to fill his roster spot.
Boo! Put the race card back in the deck Einstein. Pham’s race is irrelevant.
The Padres should pay the man. When “right”, he’s worth 3x that amount.
and we wonder why racism exists….comments like this where the poster said nothing about Pham’s race.
Bang on dpsmith. I had to look for the card and couldn’t find it in the deck of comments.
He’s amazing hit .200 last year he’s what 34 pass
He’s yet to turn 33.
Not racist to say that a guy that shows such a complete lack of judgement that he goes to a strip club during a pandemic then gets stabbed while there and now is in a lawsuit that says he is going to lose money as a player because of the stabbing is a distraction. Its reality whether he is white, black, brown, yellow, red or green.
Last season he was injured prior to the season and was not expected to make opening day. Then later in the season he broke his hamate bone. Then he got stabbed. Then he had surgery to repair all the muscles around the hamate bone this offseason. That doesn’t even take into account the fact that he has a congenital eye condition that is degenerative. I don’t think that anyone with a lick of sense believes that at age 33 and after all those injuries that he will ever again be the .273/.369 hitter he was for the Rays in 2019.
caldo19, When right, and 2 years younger, Pham was a .273 hitter with 20 HR power in LF. That is not worth $24 million per season.
Hard to argue that he is worth $8 million considering that he is coming off a season where he hit .211, is 33 years old and in decline, had two separate surgeries this offseason, and has a degenerative eye disease.
I think you are joking and if so, I love the sarcasm.
There is no good reason to tender a contract to Pham, or even bother with arbitration. I won’t say he’s done, but he’s not worth what it will take to keep him around.
Didn’t you hear? Minorities can’t be racist….that is the kind of thinking that has put this country in it’s current position.
It’s probably wise when your a millionaire in your 30’s just to avoid establishments like strip clubs altogether.
Tough decision on Pham because who will replace him? 8M is a lot for a wildcard bet too…
The Padres could try to resign Jurickson Profar. Although I am not sure how Profar feels about converting to being a full time outfielder.
I think Profar wants to play every day.
I imagine they could sign someone equivalent for the $8m they’d save by non-tendering home.
It’s not. $8M in 2020 is less than 1/3rd what we’re paying for Machado. $8M is less than the Pads paid Garrett Richard this past season after recovering from TJ.. They’re gonna get a steal on 2021 from him even if he plays half a season. He’s that undervalued right now.
Machado backs up his salary.
Especially in postseason hitting .200
Especially 2019
Vegas sure Machado got a premium but is worth the premium for us.. Agreed. Anyways look at Phams stats the last three years and quit judging one injury year? He actually played as one of our more clutch hitters when he did play if you watched his plate discipline and pitchers faced in the last month of play. Potential 25/25 good defensive outfielder for $8M yes please.
Pham’s stats have been in decline the past 3 seasons. He is going to be 33 to start the 2021 season so that pretty much guarantees that he will decline further than the .273 he hit in 2019.
Pham hit .182 with 2 outs and RISP, the stat most used to describe clutch hitting. He hit .213 with men on base. He drove in just 13.3% of baserunners and league average is 14.5%. The team leaders in percentage of baserunners driven in, Garcia, Hosmer, Myers, and Machado, were all over 20%.
Pham at his peak hit 23 HRs. That was in 2017 and he has not hit than many since. He is not a threat to hit 25. He might steal 25 bases, but that is not nearly as valuable in a LF as power is.
Pham has put up a negative dWAR the past 3 seasons, his OAA has been well below league average in 2019 and 2020, and DRS and UZR both have him as about league average in 2019 and as below average in 2020.
He is going to be 33 though, his stats do show steady decline although I’m willing to more or less disregard judging anyone on this odd season. But he’s at that age.
Machado worth what? Hit .170 in postseason blah and is .200 postseason hitter he’s a loser
The Twins just put Rosario on outright waivers. Right now, I’ll take him over Pham.
Very interesting call. I think they keep him. Outfield class is pretty weak this year.
Why does Pham keep going to a new team, if cut will be 4th team before free agency?
Because he’s head case
He bad-mouthed the Cardinals … The Rays saw that his best days were behind him, and he had health issues … Preller was the sucker.
Nothing new he’s always the sucker deadline deals last all blew up in face but but Tatis
He’s in a walk year, so he’ll be very motivated. He probably has some upside at $8MM. The undisclosed surgery is a plus since it corrects a known problem.
The question is- does the down year, stabbing, recovery from surgery and pandemic dampen his market drastically.
I think $8MM is the top of his market. No real risk in non-tendering him if you are ambivalent about him versus another $8MM option. Additionally, he could be starting to decline. I’d non-tender him and redeploy the money elsewhere.
Yeah, I would move on. He is that girlfriend that drags you down. Once you break up you realize things get better without her.
Bingo
I’d love to see Pham end up in Boston somehow. It would remind me of the 2013 Red Sox when they added Shane Victorino and a bunch of other castaways and went on to surprise everyone with a World Series victory after a dreadful 2012. Pham is a spark plug who when healthy adds a lot to a team.
I would agree. Obviously time will tell but my money’s on Tommy Pham. He’s been counted out many, many times in his life and he’s always come back. If he’s healthy he’ll reap many benefits to San Diego or wherever he goes. I would love for the Padres fans to see the same person the Rays and Cardinals saw. It just wasn’t possible this year. Barring injury he’ll be fun to watch this coming year.
I don’t mean to belittle his pain, but, man this guy is having a rough year.
Non-tender Pham. Offer free agent Renfroe for $2M+ incentives. If Renfroe signs, find a LH OF, capable as a defender, after the non-tender 12/2 date for as much as $2M. Use the approximate $4M toward the cost of a capable arm to the pitching staff.
They would have to spend more than they would save on non-tendering Pham to do this, but a Joc Pederson/Hunter Renfroe platoon in LF would be an awesome combo.
I think there’s too many variables in play though to non-tender him and then hope to make up the production on the market. Seems risky to just hope you’ll be able to acquire what you need in LF if you’re seeking both parts of a platoon combo.
As much as I’m intrigued by a Pederson/Renfroe platoon, I don’t think Renfroe would want to go back to SD.
I am guessing that Pham will be on the Padres going into 2021 – and then traded when Preller starts dealing again.
No if he’s productive trading him won’t be an option unless the Padres fall out of the race and if he isn’t productive no one is going to trade for him.
Teams want pitching at deadline not light hitting old player
Tommy should be okay. I agree with caldo19. He’s on schedule to be totally healthy for 2021 and when totally healthy he is a proven asset (20-20; 100 runs scored; above average defensively). His 2017-19 years were very good and he was healthy. He should be healthy in 2021 and well worth the risk. He was also a fan – and clubhouse – favorite in St. Louis and Tampa Bay for his hustle, work ethic, and leadership.
Pham is going to be 33. 33 year old players that are not on steroids don’t get better or fully healthy. They do what Pham has been doing since he peaked in 2017, they decline.
Let the Cards sign him.
The trade is now Xavier Edwards for Cronenworth.
I know Padre fan has Cronenworth in HOF based on 1 month
Very few males in San Diego haven’t been to the “Pacer” at least once. But his lawsuit seems to be asking the team to release him? Will be interesting decision, will the team try to take advantage and shove a low ball contract on him under the deadline with the premise he will recover the balance in court?
Its Pacers. I was curious so I did a little research. Most males have never been to a strip club. Surveys over the past 2 decades have shown that 60-70% have said they have never been to one. In one seminal survey by Kinsey, only 37% have said they have ever been to one. 14% said they have go more than once a year, with 7% saying they have gone more than once per month. Basically the guys that have gone, go back. The rest of men apparently have no need or desire to go. Being teased is not what most men want according to Kinsey.
The Padres would have to non-tender Pham before anyone could offer him a contract of any kind, low-ball or otherwise.
60-70% of men are obviously lame af then!
Not even. It means that 60-70% of men are smart enough to realize you don’t have to pay to get teased. In fact, you can spend a lot less at any bar and have a better chance of scoring.
You know why I don’t go to strip clubs? Same reason I don’t do catch and release fishing.