'Pro's pro' Pham looks to light fire under Pirates

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Tommy Pham has been around the block in his 11-year Major League career. And though he’s a newcomer to the Pirates, his new home isn’t so foreign.

Pham knows what it’s like to be on a team with a young, exciting rotation. The 2018-19 Rays come to mind. He has a good opportunity to play here, similar to San Diego in 2020-21. And as someone who started his Major League career with the National League Central-rival Cardinals, Pham knows all about PNC Park.

“The fans are very proud of this team,” Pham said before the first full-team workout at Pirate City on Monday. “I remember playing against them early in my career in St. Louis, and it was sold out. And I just remember talking to Waino [Adam Wainwright], like, 'Man, it's like this here?' And the stadium's beautiful, of course, with the backdrop and everything. There's a lot to like just as a guy in baseball."

There’s a lot the Pirates like about Pham, too, hence why they inked him to a one-year, $4.025 million deal, which was finalized Sunday. The team was in the market for a corner outfielder, and after it made a run at Pham last offseason, the two parties came to an agreement this time around.

So what does Pham bring to this group? He said it best: “Just me.”

“I have a competitive edge,” Pham said. “I'm a pro, and I think a lot of guys, especially [since] this team is so young, you can learn a lot just from watching me."

"That's exactly what we wanted,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We wanted Tommy Pham. He was the guy we targeted. He was the guy we liked for a long time. I think the biggest thing you can say about Tommy Pham is [that] he's a winner. He drives not only himself, but he has an expectation for his teammates to win. That was important to put in our clubhouse."

Leadership has been a recurring theme this Spring Training, with more introverted individuals like Mitch Keller, Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds saying at PiratesFest last month or in camp that they plan on speaking up more when necessary. It’s something the room and front office felt the club needed.

But the Pirates also need production, and Pham could help there, too. There’s still some thunder in his bat, as evidenced when he hit in the batting cages during a live batting practice against Braxton Ashcraft on Monday. Pham hit the first bona fide homer during a live BP this camp.

Pham also is allowing the Pirates to shake up their outfield alignment. Reynolds is moving from left field to right, hoping to take advantage of his arm. Pham will play left field instead. He was worth -1 outs above average and -3 defensive runs saved on the corners for three teams last season, but those numbers were deceiving. The White Sox played Pham deeper than he was accustomed to (297-foot average depth in left field). When he went to the Royals in September after a stint with the Cardinals, Kansas City played him in (292-foot average depth in a more spacious ballpark).

The results spoke for themselves. With Chicago, Pham was worth -3 OAA and -4 DRS. With the Royals, he was +3 OAA and +4 DRS in just a month there.

“I know what to do, man,” Pham said. “I know this game more than the analytics. I know how to be a plus defender. Sometimes, like last year, I was playing deep. When you're deep, you don't really put yourself in a position to throw out guys when they're on the bases. You're getting to the ball late, you're throwing from a longer distance. … There's a lot of familiarity with me playing more shallow. And based off the last month of the season, that's clearly what I'm good at."

If Pham can bring that glove and bat to the group, it would certainly help his words carry weight with his new team.

“I'm just a pro's pro,” Pham said. “I was lucky enough to come up with Yadi [Molina], Waino, Matt Holliday and seeing how those guys went about their business. It was lucky for me to have such good leaders early in my career that taught us well. There's a lot of guys in the game who came up in '14, '15 who are still in the game, and just how we go about our business is strictly because of that."