Guardians fans shouldn’t be scared White Sox unconventional roster addition 

Today marked the deadline for teams to add players from outside their organization and have them be eligible to play in the postseason. 

For the Orioles, that meant taking a big swing to acquire Luis Robert Jr. in their quest to catch up to the Guardians for the American League’s final Wild Card spot. 

For the White Sox (the team the Guardians are chasing after in the American League Central), it provided an opportunity to reunite with outfielder Tommy Pham. Pham, who played with the White Sox in 2024, has spent most of the season playing in the minors outside of a brief stint with the Mets. 

Chicago traded for Pham, which was a legal roster maneuver at this point in the season since Pham hasn’t been on a team’s 40-man roster all season. 

But even if Pham is a big name since he has 13 big league seasons under his belt, his addition shouldn’t worry Guardians fans as they try to catch up to the White Sox in the AL Central. 

The White Sox's addition of Tommy Pham shouldn't scare the Guardians

Pham’s appeared in 68 games in the minors this season and has posted a .239/.365/.410 slashline with eight home runs and 49 RBI. He had a .250/.381/.391 slashline in 44 games with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate to go along with a 16.9% walk rate. 

Impressive numbers, but it doesn’t take away from the fact he went 0-for-13 with the Mets in his lone big league action this season. 

After a productive start to his career highlighted by multi-year stints with the Cardinals, Rays and Padres, Pham has played for eight different teams since 2022. 

He played for 70 games in his first stint with the Sox in 2024 before being traded to the Cardinals as a part of a deal that netted Chicago budding superstar Miguel Vargas. 

He ended up finishing that year with the Royals after the Cardinals waived him in August, and he played well for them down the stretch on their quest toward the postseason. 

Pham’s always been a big postseason performer, but he hasn’t been the same level of performer in recent years. While he also had interest from the Twins and Rangers, there’s a reason the Phillies never called him up even as they navigated a bevy of outfield injuries. 

He’ll fit into a White Sox outfield picture that consists of lefties Sam Antonacci, Tristan Peters and switch-hitter Braden Montgomery. He’ll get some platoon at-bats, but not enough to truly make a difference. 

Meanwhile, the Guardians improved their outfield at the deadline by acquiring Jo Adell, and also have a budding star in Chase DeLauter. Their struggles may have them trailing the White Sox in the division, but they have enough talent that they don’t need to roll the dice on a journeyman veteran. 

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