The Rays and Padres completed a trade Friday night sending Tommy Pham to San Diego.
ST. PETERSBURG – Having already lost Travis d’Arnaud to Atlanta and Avisail Garcia to free agency, the Rays sent one more key piece to their 2019 success elsewhere. Pham is heading to the Padres for OF Hunter Renfroe and their #5 prospect, INF Xavier Edwards.
Pham, 31, is coming off a season where he hit 21 home runs, 33 doubles, and stole 25 bags. In 184 games with the Rays, the former Cardinal hit .287 with 28 home runs and 90 RBI. He reached base in a club-record 48 straight games between 2018-2019 seasons. Pham projects to make $8.6 million in arbitration in 2020.
Joining him in San Diego, the Rays also send two-way AAA Player of the Year, Jake Cronenworth. For the Durham Bulls in 2019, Cronenworth hit .334 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI, and 26 doubles. He made seven appearances on the mound, yielding only two un-earned runs.
The third part of the Rays side of the trade is the ‘ol player to be named later.
So what’s the haul?
In return for Pham, the Rays bring in Renfro – a 27-year old slugger who hit a career-high 33 home runs for the Padres in 2019. His 33 bombs were seventh in the NL for outfielders and his 13 assists were tied for first. Maybe the most valuable part of his offense is his success against left-handed pitchers. In 113 at-bats against southpaws, Renfro hit 11 home runs with a 10.27 AB/HR ratio, second to only Manny Machado in the NL. He’s set to make $3.4 million in his first year of arbitration in 2020 and has four years of control.
The also get San Diego’s #5 prospect in Edwards. The 20-year old will likely start the season with Port Charlotte. In single-A ball in 2019 he hit .322 with 18 doubles and eight triples. He swiped 34 bags and was named to the Midwest League’s mid-season and post-season All Star teams. He is currently ranked as the 72nd prospect in the minors by MLB.com.
The Rays 40-man roster now sits at 38.
The reaction
This speaks for itself:
Blake Snell lol pic.twitter.com/sjwTZNU5f6
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) December 6, 2019
Never change, Blake Snell. Never change.
