New York Mets owner Steve Cohen addresses rumors $6,000,000 slugger Tommy Pham was negative presence in clubhouse: "He played his heart out as a Met"

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen took to Twitter in an attempt to shut down rumors that Tommy Pham was a malignant presence in the clubhouse.

Pham was signed to one-year $6,000,000 deal prior to the 2023 season, only to ship him off at the trade deadline. He had solid production on the field, which is what made him a tempting target for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Recently, weeks after the trade went through, Mets fans began to speculate that Pham was traded because he was causing problems in the locker room. Normally these rumors would circulate long enough to eventually be accepted as reality, but not on Cohen's watch.

Cohen continues to prove that he is not like other MLB owners when he responded to a fan to address the rumors.

"Will clear up any misperception about Tommy Pham. He was a great guy and a terrific teammate. He played his heart out as a Met" - Steve Cohen

Based on this information from a rather impeccable source, it's safe to say Pham was traded for strictly baseball reasons. The Mets were clearly having a firesale at the deadline, which the slugger was a part of. This same sale saw Max Scherzer traded to the Rangers and Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros.

Tommy Pham has had personal issues with some players in the past, most notably when he slapped Joc Pederson last season. This led many to believe that he could be a problem in the locker room. While that wasn't the case with the New York Mets, many feared that it would be.

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Tommy Pham seems to have found a home with Arizona Diamondbacks

He has been with the team for only 20 days, but Diamondbacks teammates and coaches already seem to have accepted Pham. After he got into an altercation with a rather rambunctious fan, Torey Lovullo made it very clear he and the team had Pham's back.

"These fans are awful to Tommy ... I don't know the details of it. I just didn't like what's coming out of these fans' mouth. It's real, I'm not making that up. If you get near our dugout, you'd be amazed at what's being said" - Torey Lovullo

Being a baseball player with a bad reputation is a tough spot to be in. With how much of the game is mental, having to hear all sorts of nonsense from the crowd is an added hurdle. Despite this, Tommy Pham has been able to put together a solid 2023 campaign, and could even appear in the playoffs.