“Dude joins a new team every 6 months"; "He's garbage" - MLB fans slam Pirates reportedly signing with Tommy Pham

The Pittsburgh Pirates have entered an interesting point in their franchise history. The emergence of Paul Skenes as one of the best pitchers in baseball has not only helped bring my eyes to the small-market club, but also started the clock on building a contender around the young phenom.

Despite an added sense of urgency to start winning more baseball games, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been relatively quiet this offseason with Spencer Horwitz being arguably their biggest addition. That was until Thursday when the team reportedly reach a one-year agreement with veteran outfielder Tommy Pham.

The 36-year-old might be on the back end of his lengthy career but has still remained a solid contributor, albeit in a smaller role. Last season, Pham split time between the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago White Sox, posting a .248 batting average with 9 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases. While he is a fine depth addition to the Pirates, so fans are less enthused.

"He’s garbage" - One fan posted.

"Couldn’t find a deal anywhere else ya say?" - Another fan shared.

"Why is this our biggest FA move" - One more added.

It remains to be seen what role Tommy Pham will take on with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2025, however, some fans believe that he will become trade fodder by the time the deadline rolls around. Pittsburgh will be the 10th team of Pham's career, and some fan are not ruling out that he will be able to add to that list before the end of the year.

"Dude is on a new team ever 6 months" - One fan shared on social media.

"Guaranteed to be traded at the deadline" - Another fan posted.

"More like "one-year" deal.. wonder who he'll end up playing for" - One more added.

Paul Skenes is optimistic about the Pittsburgh Pirates' future despite lacking stars like Shohei Ohtani

There are clear differences between the offseason moves of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates, however, this is not something that pitcher Paul Skenes will use as an excuse. The reigning World Series champions added the likes of Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, and Roki Sasaki this offseason, however Skenes is optimistic that playing clean baseball could help Pittsburgh win.

"If you go out and sign the Ohtanis, maybe it becomes a little bit easier ... but there's no reason we can't play fundamental baseball and execute at a very high level without having players like that," Skenes said.

It will be interesting to see how Pittsburgh responds in 2025, however, there is a chance that if things don't start improving, the Paul Skenes trade rumors are going to continue to heat up.