Padres News: San Diego signs World Series champion, Tommy Pham’s possible roster fit

Things have remained busy down at spring training for the San Diego Padres. Every day there seems to be a new wrinkle in the team's decision-making regarding key roster moves with the team's outfield, rotation, and bullpen. Even with the Padres seemingly taking a step back heading into 2024, no one can say that they're not interesting.

Beyond a few spring roster cuts that have provided some clarity regarding internal candidates, little in the way of actual progress has been made publicly towards the decisions in these roster battles. If anything, things have gotten even more complicated.

Padres News: San Diego signs Brad Miller to a minor-league deal

When it comes to versatility, few players over the last several years have stood out more as their team's utility knife than Brad Miller. Through the 2020 season, Miller excelled playing all over the field while remaining a consistent threat at the plate. In the modern game of baseball where altering lineups and rotating guys around has a ton of value, Miller seemed uniquely suited as a super bench bat.

However, the last couple of seasons with the Rangers have been difficult for Miller as he has dealt with neck, hip, oblique, and hamstring injuries that limited him to just 308 plate appearances combined. Still, the Padres seem to at least want to give him a shot as a depth piece and went ahead and inked Miller to a minor-league deal. The risk is exceedingly low for San Diego and it could pay big dividends if Miller is healthy and can return to being a .750-.800 OPS hitter again.

Padres News: Tommy Pham remains on team's radar

San Diego's outfield situation has been at the forefront of the spring training narrative this year. After losing both Trent Grisham and Juan Soto, the Padres have been very busy trying out multiple players, including several top prospects, to fill the void this spring. However, it also appears as though that San Diego is still entertaining the idea of bringing in a familiar free agent to help the cause.

In a Q&A over at The Athletic, Dennis Lin noted that the Padres' front office and coaches still hold Tommy Pham in high regard and are considering bringing him back. Pham is a polarizing figure around the league due to his general demeanor and tendency to take fantasy football way too seriously, but he is still one of the best outfield bats still available and the Padres are familiar with him from his time with the team in 2020 and 2021.

The best bet here seems like that the team is seeing how the young guys like Jakob Marsee and Jackson Merrill perform over the next week or so, and if they still feel like Pham is their best option, San Diego may pounce.

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