Brewers Rumors: Crew Showing Interest In A Familiar Target?

The MLB trade deadline is just round the corner with teams having until 5 p.m. CT tomorrow. Rumors continue to be rife as Brewers look to make moves that can impact the final run in of the regular season and then into the playoffs.

The move to get Carlos Santana from their division rivals the Pittsburgh Pirates was essential to filling the void at first base left by the injury to Rowdy Tellez. With the deadline looming, there is the possibility of the Brewers going after another experienced and familiar target to add to the outfield.

According to reports, one player that is of interest to the Milwaukee Brewers is Mets outfielder Tommy Pham.

We head to the NL East and the disappointing New York Mets for this familiar target. The Mets may have the highest payroll in the league but have struggled this season with a 50-55 record and are six games back of the Philadelphia Phillies, who are in third place in their division. Max Scherzer has already been traded to the Texas Rangers, David Robertson has gone to the Miami Marlins and rumors are circling of Justin Verlander being moved on.

Per Robert Murray of FanSided, the Brewers are looking for another bat and a move for Tommy Pham could be on the cards. Milwaukee have expressed their interest in the outfielder on numerous occasions and with the Mets looking to move people on this may be their chance to get him on the cheap. At 35 years old he wouldn't be a long-term move but adding that experienced bat to the lineup could make or break the Brewers season and whether they play in the postseason.

When it comes down to the stats Pham is actually having one of the best seasons of his career. He is batting .268 which is the fourth best of his career, his on-base percentage is at .348, again the fourth best of his career. Those seasons where he has performed better were prior to 2019 so he is playing his best ball in a long time and may be worth the Brewers making a move now for him. He has 10 home runs, would rank sixth on the Brewers and his 36 RBIs would be fifth.

Another plus to Pham potentially being added is he has a solid record when playing at American Family Field. When playing at the Brewers he has hit eight home runs, 19 RBIs on .305/.362/.638 splits in 29 career games there. Despite that not being great news for when the Brewers play against him, if he is added to the roster then he shouldn't have any struggles adapting to the field.

This past week fellow Mets outfielder Mark Canha was a name reported to be attracting interest to the Brewers, but as of right now Pham is hitting better than him. As previously mentioned with Pham being 35 he may not be a long-term solution, but for this season's run in he could play a vital part in the Crew still playing come October.

When it comes to the outfield the Brewers have a number of options already out there but Pham would provide a better bat in the outfield. Yelich is a lock as he is putting up great numbers this season and just yesterday against the Braves he hit another home run. Rookie Sal Frelick has taken to the majors by storm and so it would be unlikely that he is taken out of the lineup with him batting at .304. Fellow rookies Blake Perkins and Joey Wiemer have both played exceptionally well and have also done well since moving up to the majors.

However, Pham is batting better than those two and if the Brewers are to make a serious charge for the postseason than it is likely he would start ahead of them. The DH position has also been rotated a lot recently with Yelich, Abraham Toro, and William Contreras all taking that spot in the series with the Braves. This is another spot that Pham might find himself and then you leave the younger guys out there to play defense.

Overall I like this idea for the Brewers. Pham is playing well and will help the offense progress to push for that top spot in the division. His age, expiring contract and the Mets willingness to move players on would mean he is likely easy to trade for. In terms of the future they could decide not to re-sign him if it doesn't work out and with an abundance of talented outfielders in the minors it may not happen.