Offensive help could be on the way to the Chicago White Sox.
The club has come to terms on a minor-league contract with veteran outfielder/designated hitter Tommy Pham, a source confirmed Monday evening to the Tribune.
Juan Toribio of MLB.com had the initial report of the deal. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Pham would earn $3 million in the majors with $1.5 million in incentives and that he must be added to the major-league roster by April 25, or he could request his release.
Pham, 36, has a career .259/.351/.435 slash line with 130 home runs and 431 RBIs during 10 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (2014-18), Tampa Bay Rays (2018-19), San Diego Padres (2020-21), Cincinnati Reds (2022), Boston Red Sox (2022), New York Mets (2023) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2023).
Pham had a combined 16 home runs and 68 RBIs in 129 games for the Mets and Diamondbacks last season. He made 78 starts in the outfield (mostly playing left field, but also seeing time in right and center) and 36 starts as a designated hitter.
He hit .421 (8-for-19) for the Diamondbacks in the World Series.
Pham set career highs in home runs (23) and RBIs (73) in 2017.
The Sox — who at 2-14 are off to the worst 16-game start in franchise history — are struggling as a whole at the plate, ranking last in the majors with 34 runs. They were shut out for a major-league-leading sixth time this season with Monday’s 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox have been hit hard by injuries early with All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and third baseman Yoán Moncada on the injured list.
Robert went on the injured list April 6 with a right hip flexor strain suffered the previous night in Kansas City, Mo., while Moncada is out with a left adductor strain sustained April 9 in Cleveland. General manager Chris Getz told reporters Friday that it’s “looking more like the six-week mark for a return to play,” for Robert and that Moncada’s timeline “is some time after the All-Star break.”
Designated hitter Eloy Jiménez returned from the injured list Monday after missing time with a left adductor strain.