White Sox sign Pham to minor-league deal
Tommy Pham has finally found a job.
The free-agent slugger signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago White Sox, the team announced. Pham will report to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday, where he'll get some at-bats ahead of an eventual call-up to Chicago.
Pham signed a minor-league deal because he has no options remaining, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. By taking such a deal instead of a standard big-league contract, he'll be able to join Chicago's active roster without having to clear waivers first. He's not expected to spend a long time ramping up in the minors, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Pham will earn $3 million, with $1.5 million in performance bonuses when he's in the majors, sources told MLB.com's Juan Toribio.
The 36-year-old enjoyed a solid 2023 season, hitting .256/.328/.446 with 16 homers, 68 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 129 games split between the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks. He was a critical piece of the D-Backs' surprising run to the NL pennant, hitting three homers during the playoffs, and was the team's best hitter in their five-game World Series loss to Texas (8-for-19 with four extra-base hits).
Despite his October heroics, Pham lingered on the market all winter and was still a free agent on Opening Day. He was reportedly in talks with one of his former teams, the San Diego Padres, near the end of spring training, but nothing materialized.
Once he's ready, Pham will provide the injury-plagued White Sox with a much-needed boost in the middle of the lineup, either as a corner outfielder or DH. Three of the team's most important position players - outfielders Luis Robert Jr. and Eloy Jiménez, and third baseman Yoán Moncada - are currently on the injured list.
The White Sox have endured a miserable opening to their season. At 2-14, they're off to their worst 16-game start in franchise history and have scored a league-low 34 runs. With their 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, they became the first team to be shut out six times in their first 16 games since the 1907 Brooklyn Superbas, per The Associated Press.
Pham is a lifetime .259/.351/.435 hitter with 876 hits, 130 homers, and 431 RBIs across parts of 10 big-league seasons with seven teams.