Tampa Bay Rays to head to arbitration with Tommy Pham

The deadline for arbitration has passed and the Rays were able to agree to terms with three of their eligible players (Mike Zunino, Matt Duffy, and Chaz Roe).

Unfortunately, they were not able to come to terms with outfielder Tommy Pham, and the two sides will now go to an arbitration case some time in February.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Tommy Pham was projected to make around $4M in his first season of arbitration.

Pham came to the Rays at the 2018 trade deadline after a short stint on the disabled list, he was among the best players in baseball. Last offseason, during his final year of pre-arb, Pham turned down a two year deal from the Cardinals and wasn’t happy with the figures he was being offered for the season, but eventually signed in order to play.

After being trading to Tampa Bay, Pham was not shy about how he didn’t appreciate the way he was treated by the Cardinals front office during his time with St. Louis. Earlier this offseason, Pham also made headlines when speaking about the Rays fanbase, or lack thereof.

Pham, who will turn 31 in March, will be entering his 6th season in the majors. Despite an injury plagued campaign in 2018, Pham still hit .275/.367/.464 with 21 HR over 570 PA, accruing 4.0 fWAR.

It is not yet known how far apart the two sides are.