Tampa Bay Rays acquire Tommy Pham from Cardinals
The Tampa Bay Rays may not be competing in 2018, but they made a deal to acquire a controllable piece for the future in a deal with the Cardinals.
The Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals very feasibly opened up the Cardinals’ selling season with a deal that sent outfielder Tommy Pham and $500K in international spending money to Tampa Bay while sending three prospects to St. Louis.
Who the Tampa Bay Rays got
The Tampa Bay Rays are not playing for 2018, but they are hoping to be ready for a quick move into contention, whether that’s 2019 or 2020, and they capitalized on the Cardinals being willing to move a controllable player in picking up Pham.
A 16th-round pick in 2006 out of high school, Pham took a long road up the Cardinals farm system. He got his first extended major league look in 2015 but didn’t break through until 2017 at age 29, when he hit .306/.411/.520 with 23 home runs and 25 stolen bases.
Pham has had a tough 2018 season in comparison, though his speed and power combination has remained, as he is hitting .248/.331/.399 with 14 home runs and 10 stolen bases.
Who the Tampa Bay Rays gave up
The prize of this deal for the St. Louis Cardinals is Justin Williams, a similarly slow-developing outfielder who was originally drafted in the 2nd round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s always hit at every level, but he’s seemed to be walked up one step at a time.
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Williams in 2018 has been with AAA Durham, and he’s having his worst season, hitting .258/.313/.376 with 8 home runs and 4 steals. Last season in AA Montgomery, Williams hit .301/.364/.489 with 14 home runs over just 96 games.
Genesis Cabrera is most likely a future reliever, but he has a live arm that has produced a 4.12 ERA at AA Montgomery this year in 113 2/3 innings, with 124 strikeouts.
Roel Ramirez could end up in the Cardinals bullpen sooner rather than later with very good stuff, as he’s worked up from high-A to AA this year. Overall, he’s pitched to a 2.53 ERA over 53 1/3 innings with 60 strikeouts.
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This move will be excellent the Tampa Bay Rays in the short term, and the signing money could be used to add significantly for the Rays’ future!