Tommy Pham, Mets agree to one-year deal, source says
Tommy Pham of the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 24, 2022. Credit: Getty Images
It was clear after the deal for Carlos Correa fell through that if the Mets were going to improve their lineup, they’d have to do it incrementally.
And though Wednesday morning’s addition of Tommy Pham, according to a source, was hardly a blockbuster, general manager Billy Eppler did, at least, nab himself a fourth outfielder and a potential DH who can consistently hit lefties — a need they couldn’t quite fill last season.
The deal, pending a physical, is for one year and $6 million with $2 million worth of incentives, according to a source. The nine-year journeyman hit .236/.312/.374 with eight stolen bases and 17 home runs but also famously made headlines last year after slapping the Giants’ Joc Pederson over a fantasy football spat.
Pham has a career .259 average, though the 34-year-old righthander mashes lefties: a 119 OPS+ against them last year, and a lifetime .276 batter with an .843 OPS. It was a skill set the Mets were hoping for out of Darin Ruf last year, though that experiment didn’t work out as planned, with Ruf hitting .152 after joining the Mets before the trade deadline.
Pham will join Brandon Nimmo, Mark Canha and Starling Marte in the outfield, and complement Daniel Vogelbach, who struggles against lefties, as the DH — something the team hopes will be further bolstered as prospect Francisco Alvarez matures. Pham, who played for the Reds and Red Sox last season, isn’t a particularly strong defender. He had -6 outs above average last year, according to Baseball Savant, but has a strong arm and above-average speed.
He also has a few tools the Mets value highly: He was in the 93rd percentile in exit velocity, the 89th percentile in hard-hit percentage, and 17th percentile in strikeout percentage. His plate discipline, ability to make contact and proven ability to pull the ball all make him an at least intriguing option.
“Some reasons for optimism on our part is that one, we’re going to see a bit more restrictions obviously with defensive positioning” with the ban on the shift, Eppler said Tuesday, hours before the signing. “I think it stands to reason that some contact and a contact approach would get rewarded. There would be more traffic on the bases . . . Quality baserunning, having hitters that can manipulate the barrel a little bit [will help].”
Mets lock up Nido. The Mets have come to a two-year agreement with Tomas Nido, locking up the catcher's remaining arbitration years, a source confirmed. Nido, who will likely join a catching platoon with Omar Narvaez and potentially Francisco Alvarez, will make $1.6 million in 2023 and $2.1 million in 2024, for a total $3.7 million deal.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
