AL Club Showing Trade Interest in Former Mets Star; Should New York Pursue Reunion?

A former Met has become a popular trade candidate recently.

May 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago White Sox center fielder Tommy Pham (28) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

One of the hottest trade deadline options this season is a player the New York Mets know well.

Tommy Pham, who spent half of the 2023 season with the Mets, is thriving on the historically-awful Chicago White Sox and is a sure bet to be on the move at the deadline, according to insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

"Several teams are interested in Pham, who played center field before [Luis] Robert returned," Heyman wrote. "As one rival exec said, 'He can hit.' He’s also a player who can spice up a clubhouse, and that $3 million contract is more than reasonable. The [Kansas City] Royals have interest, but he’d fit many teams."

https://t.co/l1UPatdAKJ. White Sox may have historically bad team but should have an excellent sale (maybe the best). 6 South Siders with real value listed here (and if they are all traded they could let the ‘62 Mets off the hook)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 21, 2024

While Heyman mentioned the Royals in particular, he also acknowledged that they were one of many teams to be interested in Pham's services. It's unlikely that the Mets are one of those teams, although it wouldn't be impossible.

Pham played 79 games with the Mets last season before being shipped off to the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 1; he was productive in that brief stay by hitting .268/.348/.472 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI, a 125 wRC+, and 1.4 fWAR. However, Pham also made headlines for expressing his displeasure with the team's work ethic; although he spared Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo from his wrath, he called the Mets "the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with."

This season, the 36-year-old outfielder has remained productive for a terrible White Sox team, hitting .276/.349/.388 with 22 runs scored and 11 extra-base hits in 39 games while playing on a minor league deal. With the White Sox planning to execute a fire sale, Pham is all but guaranteed to be traded at the deadline for the second straight season.

Based on Pham's comments about the Mets last season, it would seem that he burned any bridges between the two parties. However, New York is now under a new regime led by president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza, along with a revamped roster; despite struggling early on, the Mets have surged back into the playoff hunt and could possibly buy at the deadline.

With new faces that hopefully have a better work ethic than before, perhaps that could be attractive enough for a reunion with Pham.