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Former Rays' All-Star snub DFA'd by Mets amid their awful start

ByMason Stacy|
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Sep 18, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Tommy Pham (29) is greeted in the dugout after scoring on a single by catcher Travis d'Arnaud (37) in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Sep 18, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Tommy Pham (29) is greeted in the dugout after scoring on a single by catcher Travis d'Arnaud (37) in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

This journeyman has now been a member of 10 different organizations throughout his 13-year career. It's generally not a good sign if a player has played for this many teams in a short period of time and that's definitely the case for this athlete. His clubhouse morals have been criticized over and over again, but teams still continue to give him an opportunity. Why? Well, he gets on base! His career OBP likely has something to do with it, but the 9-19 Mets had a short leash for the former Ray.

Former Rays' outfielder Tommy Pham DFA'd by a struggling Mets' team

Pham began his MLB career with a six-year stint in St. Louis. His success was up and down, but he ended his time with the Cardinals with a respectable .267 AVG and 53 home runs. When the Rays acquired Tommy Pham in the middle of the 2018 season, fans didn't necessarily know which version of him they were going to see. Well, it's safe to say we got the best of the Las Vegas native.

In only two seasons with the Rays, Pham produced a 6.4 WAR as he reached career highs in doubles (33 in 2019), plate appearances (654 in 2019), and hits (155 in 2019). Aside from his 2017 season where he hit .307 in 128 games, 2019 was definitely Pham's best season as big leaguer.

The 6'1 outfielder completed his Rays' tenure with a .287 AVG as he performed at a prime peak level. However, no other season would ever come close for Pham as news started to spread about his poor clubhouse ethics.

The former 16th round bounced around from team to team as he even played for three different teams (White Sox, Cardinals, and Royals) in 2024. Pham would find spurts of success as he collected 17 doubles with the Pirates in 2025, but organizations were not willing to keep him around.

This last DFA for Tommy Pham may have been the "kicker" as he could be forced to call it quits in the MLB. Through nine games and 14 at-bats, Pham was 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts as a member of the New York Mets. You can't have a much worse start and considering the team's atrocious start as well, they decided to DFA the veteran outfielder.

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