Tommy Pham Finds New Home For The Stretch Drive

Tommy Pham has been a stretch drive acquisition kind of guy for a few years now, and after being waived by the St. Louis Cardinals this past week, he’s now found a new team to help push over the finish line, as the Kansas City Royals have put in a claim on the 36 year-old.

The Royals have claimed Tommy Pham off waivers, per @katiejwoo pic.twitter.com/WiLFZaWKVK
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 31, 2024

The Royals had tried to trade for Pham at the deadline when he was still with the Chicago White Sox. Since then he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he had a failed reunion in 23 games in which he batted just .206, and the Cardinals fell out of the playoff race.

He’ll now join the Royals, who are 2.5 games back in the AL Central while holding down the second Wild Card spot in the American League.

Because he was claimed before Sunday's deadline, he will be eligible for the postseason. The Royals will now pick up the remaining $850,000 of his one-year, $3 million contract.

Lasy year, Pham played a big role for the Arizona Diamondbacks down the stretch, in their run to a World Series appearance.