The Mets’ signing of Tommy Pham wasn’t exactly an inspiring one. The team needed another right-handed bench bat with outfield flexibility last winter, and they seemed to be shooting more for names like Adam Duvall, Andrew McCutchen, and AJ Pollock on the free agent market. However, the Mets instead settled on Pham, who was considered more of a down-market option at the time.
Pham was coming off a poor year for the Reds and Red Sox where he hit for just a 90 wRC+ in 622 PAs between the two teams. He also carried a history of character issues on and off the field that included several incidents in 2022, with the most notable one being when he slapped Joc Pederson on the field before a game over a fantasy football dispute.