Mets reunite with veteran outfielder ahead of Opening Day

The New York Mets have lofty goals for the 2026 season, hoping to return to the playoffs after a collapse in 2025. They are preparing for Opening Day, as the Mets face the Pittsburgh Pirates, putting out a historic lineup.

Now, the Mets are adding to their organization, bringing back a former Mets outfielder, according to Jorge Castillo of ESPN.

“The Mets and outfielder Tommy Pham are in agreement on a minor-league deal, a source tells ESPN,” Castillo posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Pham was selected in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He opted not to attend college, but instead, join the Cardinals organization. He broke into the majors with the Cardinals in 2014, playing six games that year. The outfielder was traded at the deadline in 2018 to the Tampa Bay Rays and would be traded again ahead of the 2020 season to the San Diego Padres.

In 2022, the outfielder would sign with the Cincinnati Reds, but would be traded to the Boston Red Sox that season. The former Cardinal then opted for free agency, signing with the Mets ahead of the 2023 campaign.

He was solid in his time with the Mets, playing in 79 games, hitting .268 with a .348 OBP. He also had ten home runs, 36 RBIs, and 29 runs scored. The outfielder was traded during the season to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pham did not make many friends on the way out of New York, as he made disparaging remarks about the team as he left.

“Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with,” Pham told Francisco Lindor.

Now, Pham is back with the Mets, and hopefully will have a better stint this time than he did in his last go-around.

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