Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham could find himself on a third team in just over a month’s span by the end of the weekend, which would mark an end to his brief return to the organization that drafted him and with which he made his major league debut.
Pham, a right-handed-hitting veteran, became one of several players across Major League Baseball placed on waivers Thursday, according to multiple reports, .
The timing of the move is important in that it leaves open the possibility that another team could claim Pham and add him to its roster in time to make him eligible for postseason play.
In order for a player to be eligible for postseason play, he must have been on the club’s 40-man roster by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Aug. 31. Placing Pham on waivers allows a team to claim him and add him to its roster in time to play in the postseason.
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Waiver claim priority order is based on winning percentage, the team with the worst winning percentage having the top priority, and the order continues with the second-worst winning percentage and so on in ascending order.
Pham has not been released by the club, and he remains on the active roster for the time being. He was in uniform and on the bench for Thursday’s game.
Pham declined to speak with reporters in the Cardinals clubhouse following Thursday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres, and he cited a desire not to serve as a distraction to the team. The Cardinals won the final two games of the four-game series to salvage a split in Mike Shildt’s managerial return to Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals, who selected Pham in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB draft, reacquired him as part of a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox on July 29.
Pham and right-handed starting pitcher Erick Fedde came to the Cardinals in the deal that sent Tommy Edman, minor league pitcher Oliver Gonzalez and White Sox relief pitcher Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers also sent infielder Miguel Vargas, a pair of minor league players and future considerations to the White Sox.
The Cardinals had targeted a right-handed-hitting outfielder in their trade deadline pursuits.
Pham, 36, made a splash in his first game back with the Cardinals. He smacked a pinch-hit grand slam in an 8-1 win over the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium in his first appearance with the Cardinals this season on July 30.
The Cardinals were 55-52 and just two games out of the last National League wild-card playoff spot through games on July 30.
With Thursday’s win, the Cardinals climbed back to .500 (67-67) with 28 games remaining in the regular season. As of late Thursday afternoon, the Cardinals were 6½ games behind the Atlanta Braves for the last wild-card spot (the Braves’ game was still ongoing) with both the New York Mets (70-64) and Chicago Cubs (68-66) ahead of them in the race for that final spot.
Since he rejoined the Cardinals, Pham has batted .206 with a .286 on-base percentage, a .368 slugging percentage, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 23 games (77 plate appearances).
Last season, Pham went from the Mets to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline. He helped the Diamondbacks win the NL pennant. In 50 regular-season games with the Diamondbacks, he slashed .241/.304/.415 with six home runs and 32 RBIs.