The All-Star Game is over. While it was fun to see so many Philadelphia Phillies show out in Arlington, the two days off before the second half mean one thing: The focus swiftly returns to the July 30 MLB trade deadline.
In less than two weeks, Philadelphia Phillies fans will have a good idea of what the team that will march through the remainder of the season and, hopefully, straight into the National League Division Series will look like.
It's well-known at this point that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sum Fuld are looking for an outfielder and bullpen depth, with the former being the most pressing need. The Phillies outfield is ranked 28th in MLB with a paltry .650 OPS.
White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham drawing interest from Phillies front office
The trade deadline headlines have been focused on Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. as the prized trade target this summer, but with the hefty price he'll fetch, teams are looking for cheaper alternatives.
That includes the Phillies, apparently. According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, the Phillies have an interest in veteran outfielder Tommy Pham.
"The Phillies and Royals are thought to have some interest in Pham as they search for an outfielder..." Heyman reported on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old isn't the tooled-up show-stopping superstar like his teammate Robert, but the Phillies front office is interested in more of a role player than a full-blown superstar, anyway.
Pham signed with the White Sox late this season and has played in 60 games around a 10-day stint on the injured list with a sprained ankle. The Phillies got an up close and personal look at Pham last year — he was an integral part of the Arizona Diamondbacks team that took out Philadelphia in the NLCS.
Now in his 11th MLB season, Pham is batting .264/.339/.368 with four home runs and five stolen bases in 257 plate appearances for the struggling White Sox. He has yet to really find his power stroke at Guaranteed Rate Field this season despite hitting more fly balls and line drives than last year. Perhaps some more games at the much more hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park would help.
On an expiring $2.53 million contract, the right-handed hitter would be an ideal short-term corner outfield rental to plug the gap against left-handed pitching, against which he's hitting .260. He hits about the same against righties.
The key is that he slugs against southpaws. While his overall slugging percentage isn't eye-popping, against lefties, he's slugging .480 and has an .863 OPS, both of which are slightly better than his career numbers.