Luis Robert Jr. is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a grade 2 right hip flexor strain. It is a huge blow to a White Sox lineup that has scored just 16 runs on the year and is 5-for-48 with runners in scoring position. After watching the White Sox offense go 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position during Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Royals, it is clear the White Sox need some offensive reinforcements.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale the White Sox are in the market for an additional bat with free agent outfielder Tommy Pham being named as an “ideal fit.” Pham is a ten-year MLB veteran who helped the Arizona Diamondbacks reach the World Series last season. The 36-year-old owns a career .259/.351/.435 slash line with 130 home runs and an 18.1 WAR. Last season he hit 16 home runs and 68 RBIs with a .774 OPS in 129 games between stints with the Mets and Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals selected Pham in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft. He spent four and a half seasons in St. Louis before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Since then he has spent time with the Padres, Reds, Red Sox, Mets, and Diamondbacks. The best season of his career came in 2017 with the Cardinals where he set career highs with 23 home runs, 73 RBIs, a .306 batting average, and a .931 OPS.
Pham is far from the player he once was at this stage in his career but he has still shown a knack for getting on base. In 2021 he ranked in the top 5 percent of the MLB with a 13.9% walk rate. Last season he posted a 9.8% walk rate which was still above the MLB average. The White Sox could use someone like him in the lineup to help string together some more professional-looking at-bats for an offense that has little margin for error.
The downside of adding a player like Pham is that he would potentially block one of the White Sox’s younger prospects like Zach Deloach or Oscar Colas from getting another look in the big leagues. Adding an aging short-term rental may not make sense for the White Sox in a season that is supposed to be about evaluating talent inside the organization.
However, with Eloy Jimenez and Robert Jr. on the shelf patience is running thin. Outside of Yoan Moncada, the players the White Sox were leaning on to carry the offense have failed to deliver. Andrew Benintendi is hitting .139 on the season while Andrew Vaughn is batting .194. Getz has already shown he is willing to sign players like Robbie Grossman and Mike Clevinger to make the team more competitive so don’t be surprised if you see Pham in a White Sox uniform in the near future.
