Atlanta Braves: Why Eddie Rosario is a Better Option than 2 Big-Name Free Agents in 2024
By Seth Carter
Atlanta Braves: Why Eddie Rosario is a Better Option Than Tommy Pham in 2024
Tommy Pham will be entering his age-36 season. While he gets on base more than Rosario, he is significantly older. Pham has also had severe and prolonged power outages in his career.
In fact, the three seasons prior to 2023 were just awful. It looked like Pham was toast. Over the course of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons, Pham slashed .231/.324/.372. A .372 slugging percentage is nothing to overlook. How bad is that? In 2021 with the White Sox, Billy Hamilton posted a .378 slugging percentage.
During that span, Pham hit just 35 homers over those three seasons.
He does offer a speed element that Rosario does not have, but at age 36, will he still have 20 steals in him? Same with his defense. The metrics show that Pham is about the same sort of player on defense as Rosario. Give me the younger guy.
While Pham has Rosario beat in the ability to get on base. A power drought from Pham could have fans longing for Rosario. If Pham takes 60 or 70 walks, will anyone really care when he's hitting .211 with seven homers?
Considering the price tags should be around the same range, I think it's an obvious choice for the Braves to keep Rosario in left field over Pham.