St. Louis Cardinals Placing Veteran Slugger Tommy Pham on Waivers, Per Report

Tommy Pham is about to be on the move yet again, as the St. Louis Cardinals will be placing the outfielder on waivers ahead of the playoff roster eligibility deadline.

Aug 12, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham (29) reacts after striking out in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Tommy Pham's reunion with the St. Louis Cardinals turned out to be short-lived.

The Cardinals are set to place the veteran outfielder on waivers, The Athletic's Katie Woo reported Thursday afternoon. Pham will remain eligible to play for St. Louis until he is claimed for another team, if someone else does in fact claim him.

Should someone pick up Pham and add him to their roster prior to Sept. 1, he will be eligible to play in the 2024 postseason.

The Cardinals are placing Tommy Pham on waivers, sources tell The Athletic.

Initial story here: https://t.co/pIzQ3Y3DPt

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) August 29, 2024

The Cardinals traded for Pham on July 29 as part of a three-team deal with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. Starting pitcher Erick Fedde also went from Chicago to St. Louis alongside Pham, giving the Cardinals another veteran starting pitcher to add to their rotation.

While Fedde is 8-7 with a 3.31 ERA, 1.165 WHIP and 5.3 WAR this season, Pham hasn't been nearly as productive. The 36-year-old left fielder hit .266 with a .710 OPS and -0.3 WAR in 70 games with the White Sox, but he is batting just .206 with a .653 OPS and -0.1 WAR through 23 games with the Cardinals.

Pham made his MLB debut with the Cardinals back in 2014, placing 11th in the NL MVP race in 2017. He got dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, and he remained an effective bat there through 2019. To that point in his career, Pham was a .277 hitter with an .844 OPS, averaging 23 home runs, 71 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 4.4 WAR per 162 games.

From there, Pham spent 2020 and 2021 with the San Diego Padres, then split 2022 between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. He started 2023 with the New York Mets, only to get traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks midseason and help his new team win the National League pennant.

It still took Pham until mid-April to land a minor league deal with the White Sox, who were already tracking to put up a historically poor season by the time they called him up on April 26. Pham's chances of making the playoffs improved dramatically when he got moved at the trade deadline, although the Cardinals are 13-16 since he rejoined the organization.

With St. Louis currently 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot at 67-67, they are seemingly giving Pham another chance to latch on with a true contender down the stretch.

Pham is batting .241 with a .714 OPS since 2020, averaging 17 home runs, 65 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 0.9 WAR per 162 games in that time. He is a .313 hitter with an .846 OPS in his playoff career, however, putting up six home runs, 10 RBI and six stolen bases across 31 appearances.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.