NEW YORK — The Cardinals' constant churn of their outfield options continued as the scene shifted to the Bronx and once again turned their attention toward top prospect Jordan Walker.
At least a day after placing Tommy Pham on waivers to see if a contending team was interested in his right-handed bat for its outfield, the Cardinals took the abrupt move to designate the veteran outfield for assignment. That immediately removes him from both the active roster and the 40-man roster.
It is the second move in the past week where the Cardinals have dropped a player acquired at the trade deadline from their roster with intentions of removing him from the team.
To take Pham's place on the active roster, the Cardinals recalled Jordan Walker for the second time this month. The team will reveal Friday if it has a different plan for Walker this time beyond the platoon spot he played in previously.
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He was previously in the outfield mix at the major-league level as an option against left-handed pitching. The starts were few. The at-bats were predictably limited. He went 1 for 11 in that brief stint with the Cardinals before the Cardinals returned the young outfielder to Class AAA Memphis. While there, he went 8 for 23 to storm back to the majors when the opportunity called.
Walker is starting in right field Friday against the New York Yankees, and manager Oliver Marmol said Walker will get "a run here" of starts.
The Cardinals acquired Pham from the White Sox at the trade deadline in a three-team trade that sent Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the same deal, the Cardinals acquired starter Erick Fedde. They held up agreeing to deal during discussions in an attempt to add Pham to the mix, and then ultimately did so shortly before the deadline struck. The Cardinals saw Pham as the right handed-hitting outfielder they needed against lefty pitchers, and he quickly emerged as a starter following a pinch-hit grand slam.Â
In 23 games back with the Cardinals, his original team, Pham hit .206 with a .653 OPS and a .368 slugging percentage.
He had two homers and 12 RBIs in his return to the Cardinals.