Tommy Pham was placed on waivers by the Cardinals, and while the Yankees probably wouldn’t benefit much from his services on the surface, there’s one thing he could definitely bring to the table. The Yankees have been underwhelming against left-handed pitching this season, but Pham has remained a strong hitter against southpaws. With a 115 wRC+ on the season and .207 ISO in those matchups, the veteran outfielder could give them a huge boost in situations where they’ve lacked depth all season.
With some solid opposite-field power and a great eye at the plate, Tommy Pham could be a smart waiver claim for the Bronx Bombers.
Could the Yankees Get a Boost From Tommy Pham?
There’s a lot to like about Tommy Pham’s approach and how it could fit in the Bronx, as he hits the ball hard, generates a good amount of contact in the air, and also makes excellent swing decisions. He ranks in the 97th Percentile in Chase Rate while also having above-average Zone Contact Rates, and the Yankees could really benefit from adding him to their roster with how much they’ve struggled to generate offense against left-handed pitchers.
Jasson Dominguez could come up and help this team in left field, but his numbers against left-handed pitching aren’t particularly great either, and Alex Verdugo is terrible against southpaws as well. Pham’s approach and impressive numbers against left-handed pitching could make him the perfect fit for this roster, and his spray charts suggest he could get even better in a ballpark like Yankee Stadium.
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He gets a ton of flyballs out to right field, and with the short porch he would have hit two more home runs according to Baseball Savant, which doesn’t seem like a lot but it would likely increase his OPS by a considerable margin. There’s also the fact that some balls that would be outs could ricochet off of the wall in right field, and I’d argue that Pham could see some positive regression with how middling his numbers have been with the approach he has.
As a weak-side platoon bat, we could see Tommy Pham put up solid numbers as a lower-half of the lineup threat, and the ability to work counts could also allow him to leadoff against LHP. He’s not as fast as he once was, but you’re clearly paying for some OBP and power potential. There’s also the fact that Pham has a very distinct attitude to him that I think helps the right kind of clubhouses, as evidenced by what he did in Arizona last season.
Tommy Pham wants to play on a contender, and the Yankees would be the perfect place for him to show off his no-nonsense personality and quality bat against left-handed pitchers.