Outfielder Tommy Pham spent a brief stint of the 2022 season with the Boston Red Sox. The veteran has moved around MLB quite a bit and he hasn't spent a full season with the same team since 2021.
Pham found himself on the unfortunate Chicago White Sox in 2024. He's posted a fine season offensively, but he's recently catching headlines for something else.
The White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers were embroiled in a Midwest rivalry match on June 2. The Brewers led by one run, but the ChiSox were threatening with two runners in scoring position in the eighth inning, one of them was Pham at third base.
Corey Julks lifted a fly ball to shallow left field, where Milwaukee star Christian Yelich caught it. Pham decided to test Yelich's arm, and he took off toward the plate. Yelich fired the ball to catcher William Contreras well before Pham reached safety.
Pham's path to the plate was inside the baseline and he collided with Contreras. The catcher already had the ball, though, and Pham was called out, which elicited celebrations from the Brewers defense. Pham didn't take kindly to the reaction.
Pham was heated after the play and he had some choice words for Contreras. Umpires and his teammates held him back, but Pham looked for a fight. No punches were thrown, however, and there were no ejections after the play.
Pham admitted during a postgame interview that he fights in the offseason to stay ready for heated moments like his exchange with Contreras. The outfielder's hot-headedness has earned him a reputation in MLB and garnered polarizing responses from White Sox fans on social media.
Chicago owns the worst record in MLB and has a lot of work to do at the trade deadline to make the campaign remotely salvageable. MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that the White Sox "definitely plan to trade [Pham] before the deadline," but they haven't engaged in discussions with other squads yet.
Pham is slashing .280/.331/.402 in 33 games with Chicago. He's posted three homers, seven doubles and 12 RBI for the struggling White Sox.
Boston's outfield is far and away the least of its worries this season, so the Red Sox shouldn't trade for Pham at the deadline. The veteran made it all the way to the World Series with the National League-champion Diamondbacks last season, so there's a decent chance he lands with a contender for the back half of the 2024 slate. Nightengale named the Braves as an option, and after the season-ending injury to reigning MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., they could use some backup in their pastures.
