The White Sox desperately need help in the lineup, as they have been tying 100 year old records for most shutouts to start a season. Well, help might be on the way as Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the White Sox are calling up outfielder Tommy Pham.
This move doesn’t come as a surprise, as I believe there was a clause in his contract that granted his release if he wasn’t called up by a certain day in late April. I’m sure after the White Sox agreed to this contract they knew they would be calling him up, but the main question would be who goes when he gets called up.
Well, that question has been answered, as it ends up being veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar. This was the likely choice, as Pillar has not played well to start the season. Pillar hit .160 in 25 games, adding one homerun, four RBIs and two stolen bases. The White Sox are hoping that Pham can provide more offense to a team that desperately needs it.
Pham should provide a boost, as he is a career .259 hitter and has hit 130 homeruns in his career. Last year between the Mets and the Diamondbacks, he hit .256 with 16 home runs and 22 stolen bases. If he can hit anything like that with the White Sox, he will be their best hitter by far. Something that was even more impressive last year was the fact he hit .421 in the World Series, on the biggest stage. Now, Pham won’t be playing in any playoff games with the White Sox, but if he gets off to a good start, a team looking for an outfielder for a playoff run might be intrigued by Pham.
So far in AAA, Pham hit .294 in four games. He added one RBI and had two stolen bases. Despite being 36 years old, it seems like Pham still has some in the tank. Let’s hope he can break the curse of veterans on the White Sox not performing well.
Pham can play all three outfield spots, so I would imagine he rotates around with Robbie Grossman, Dominic Fletcher, and Andrew Benintendi. I would even be in favor of Pham consistently getting at-bats over Benintendi until he proves he can hit at the MLB level again. At worse, he has a significantly stronger arm than Benintendi, so that in itself is an upgrade.
While this move is not going to magically win the White Sox a bunch of games, he should add a solid veteran bat in a lineup that desperately needs it. He could also be a player that is moved at the deadline, so Pham performing well would be good for a few reasons.
An everyday outfield of Pham, Fletcher, and Grossman could be the best combination the White Sox have this season, so that is something to monitor. Hopefully this is something that Pedro Grifol considers.
