Mets and veteran outfielder Tommy Pham agree to a minor league contract, AP source says

NEW YORK (AP) — Tommy Pham and the New York Mets have agreed to a minor league contract, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn't been announced by the team.

The 38-year-old Pham, who played for the Mets in 2023, adds depth to their overhauled outfield after another veteran on a minor league deal, Mike Tauchman, injured his left knee late in spring training. Surgery for a torn meniscus is expected to sideline him for months.

Touted prospect Carson Benge, who had been competing with Tauchman for playing time in right field, won the job and homered in his major league debut Thursday as the Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 in their season opener at Citi Field.

Pham, a right-handed batter, is a .256 career hitter with 149 home runs and a .766 OPS in 12 big league seasons with the Cardinals, Rays, Padres, Reds, Red Sox, Mets, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Royals and Pirates.

He batted .245 with 10 homers, 52 RBIs and a .700 OPS in 120 games and 449 plate appearances with the Pirates last season. He served a one-game suspension in May for conduct directed at Los Angeles Angels fans the previous month.

The outfielder was disciplined by Major League Baseball and fined an undisclosed amount on April 25 for “inappropriate actions toward” Angels fans during a game two days earlier. The penalty was upheld after his appeal went to a hearing, a Pirates spokesman said.

Pham reportedly made an obscene gesture to a fan who touched him while he was tracking down a ball in the left-field corner during a 3-0 win over the Angels.

Pham hit .268 with 10 homers, 36 RBIs and an .820 OPS in 79 games for the Mets before they traded him with cash to Arizona for minor league infielder Jeremy Rodriguez on Aug. 1, 2023.

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