St. Louis Cardinals Option OF Tommy Pham to Triple-A Memphis
In a twist that few could have predicted when he was placed on the DL last month, the St. Louis Cardinals have optioned their Opening Day left fielder, Tommy Pham, to Triple-A Memphis.
When St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham went on the disabled list back on April 4 after straining his left oblique in the team’s regular season opener, it was seen as a major loss for the club.
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After spending all spring prepping
Matt Hollidayto play first base on a regular basis, they’d have to use first basemen
Brandon Mossand
Matt Adamsregularly while shifting Holliday back to the outfield to replace Pham, who was the team’s Opening Day left fielder.
The narrative is significantly different on May 17, as Pham was activated from the 15-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday. Despite hitting .268/.347/.477 with five homers and 18 RBI as a rookie in 2015, hitting .322 with four of those homers in September, Pham apparently didn’t have enough of an established reputation to stick around.
Pham’s fate was largely due to the emergence of 28-year-old rookie Jeremy Hazelbaker, who does many of the same things that Pham does well (plays all three outfield positions capably and provides power off the bench), but has the added benefit of being a lefthanded hitter and providing an alternative to the righthanded swings of Matt Holliday, Randal Grichuk, and Stephen Piscotty. Though Hazelbaker has cooled off considerably after an April where he hit .317/.357/.683 with five homers and 13 RBI, he’s still unquestionably the Cardinals’ most dynamic bench bat, having hit three homers and driven in six runs to the tune of a .385 batting average in 13 pinch-hit at-bats.
It didn’t help that Pham went 4-for-18 during his rehab stint at Memphis. Though he heated up after his rehab was transferred to Double-A Springfield, going 5-for-14 with a homer and three walks, it apparently was too late to preserve Pham’s chances of returning to the major leagues.
Next: How Will the Cardinals' Lineup Look Once Jhonny Peralta Returns?
Things can always change, but since shortstop Jhonny Peralta is expected back within the next couple weeks–a move that will likely make struggling backup infielder Ruben Tejada expendable–Pham is probably stuck in the minors until a big-league outfielder gets injured. Considering that Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk both spent time on the disabled list last season, though, there’s still probably a good chance of Pham making a meaningful contribution to the major-league club later on this season.