Padres acquire OF Tommy Pham and INF/RHP Jake Cronenworth from Tampa Bay Rays

December 7th, 2019

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham and infielder/right-handed pitcher Jake Cronenworth from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for outfielder Hunter Renfroe, infielder Xavier Edwards and a player to be named later, Executive Vice President/General Manager A.J. Preller announced today.

In his first full season with the Rays in 2019, Pham hit .273 (155-for-567) with a .369 OBP, .818 OPS, 3.3 WAR (FanGraphs), 33 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs, 68 RBI, 81 walks, 25 stolen bases and 77 runs scored. He led the team in hits, OBP, doubles, walks and stolen bases, and finished 1st in the American League in stolen base percentage (86.2, 25-for-29). He set the Rays franchise record with a 48-game on-base streak from August 21, 2018 through April 16, 2019 (.346/.450/.593, 63 H, 34 BB), tying him with Joey Votto (2015) for the second-longest streak by any Major League player this decade (Shin-Soo Choo, 52 G in 2018). Defensively, Pham handled 166 chances without an error last season, and his 1.000 fielding percentage tied with Oakland’s Robbie Grossman for 1st among all AL left fielders. During the AL Division Series against the Houston Astros, the 31-year-old batted .333 (7-for-21) with one home run (off AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander), two RBI, one walk and one run scored.

Since the beginning of the 2015 season, Pham’s .373 on-base percentage ranks 18th among all qualified Major League players, just behind Justin Turner (15th, .378), J.D. Martinez (16th, .376) and Mookie Betts (17th, .374). Overall, he’s posted a .277 (504-for-1819) career batting average with an .844 OPS, 15.5 WAR, 87 doubles, 15 triples, 79 home runs, 239 RBI, 258 walks, 69 stolen bases and 328 runs scored in 546 games between the St. Louis Cardinals and Rays. He was originally selected by the Cardinals in the 16th round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nev.

A four-time minor league All-Star (2015-17, 2019), Cronenworth won team MVP honors for the Triple-A Durham Bulls last season, batting .334/.429/.520 (115-for-344) with 26 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR and 45 RBI. He led the International League in average and OBP and ranked 3rd in OPS (.949). He was also used as a two-way player for the first time since playing collegiate ball at the University of Michigan. The 25-year-old made seven appearances on the mound, including six as an opener, and yielded only two runs (both unearned) in 7.1 IP. He was selected as the Rays Minor League Player of the Month for April, batting .370 (30-for-81) with one home run and 11 RBI, and he was named to the IL midseason and postseason All-Star teams. Following the season, he was ranked by Baseball America as the Best Batting Prospect, Best Infield Arm, Best Defensive Shortstop and Most Exciting Player in the IL in its Best Tools survey. A native of St. Clair, Mich., Cronenworth was originally selected by the Rays in the 7th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft.