Inside The Cardinals

Ex-Cardinals Slugger Off To Hot Start With New Team After Recently Being DFA'd

The former St. Louis outfielder is thriving

Nate Hagerty

Aug 29, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view as the attendance is announced before the start of the eighth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Aug 29, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view as the attendance is announced before the start of the eighth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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The St. Louis Cardinals have a history of dropping quality players from their roster just to have them thrive when they are traded to or acquired by a new team.

For instance, the Cardinals recently dealt outfielder Dylan Carlson to the Tampa Bay Rays after the young switch hitter struggled at the plate with St. Louis in 2024. However, after landing with the American League East club, he has turned things around and is playing much better.

Not long after Carlson was traded, another Cardinals outfielder also hopes to prove himself to his new team after getting off to a hot start.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Tommy Pham -- recently acquired from St. Louis after being designated for assignment on Aug.30 -- has performed well since landing with the other I-70 club. On Wednesday night, the former Cardinals veteran belted a three-run home run to help lift his team to a 4-1 victory over the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.

Pham has logged a .294/.294/.529 slash line with five hits, one home run and three RBIs in 17 at-bats since joining the Royals the day after he was DFA'd by the Cardinals.

The 36-year-old was dropped by St. Louis nearly a month after Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak insisted Pham be included in the three-team deal that included the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox at this summer's trade deadline.

Although it was challenging to say goodbye to the well-liked veteran, letting him walk was the best option for both the Cardinals and Pham -- he was given a chance to land with a more competitive playoff contender and St. Louis opened a roster spot to provide them with more options to test out blossoming prospects in the big leagues before the season ends.

Based on how Pham played during his short reunion stint with St. Louis, it's safe to say there's still plenty of fight left in him and it'll be interesting to see how much of an impact he has on the rest of Kansas City's season.

More MLB: Cardinals Fan Favorite Seen As Significant Liability; Could Trade Be Imminent?

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Nate Hagerty

NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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