Tommy Pham is now a free agent. The bizarre trade-deadline acquisition who gave the Red Sox a jolt at the top of the lineup has declined his mutual option, as has the organization.
However, the Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Rob Refsnyder. He agreed to a one-year contract with the team on Wednesday, thus avoiding arbitration.
“My wife and I don’t take anything for granted in this game. Just how much she’s had to travel over the years and how much she’s had to go through with packing things up, moving, logistics,” Refsnyder said on The Bradfo Sho. “The last couple days, we’ve been really enjoying it. Once it becomes official and we sign some things, I’m sure we’ll enjoy a nice glass of wine and a tall bourbon and reminisce over the last couple of years. But in this moment, just very, very humbled and thankful.
“The game of baseball, it’s a cliche, but I look around, I see my kids and my wife — I met my wife at Arizona, and obviously I played baseball there. Baseball has pretty much given me everything around me.”
Throughout his injury-riddled 2022, Refsnyder hit .307 while posting an .881 OPS over 57 games. And while Pham’s addition to the lineup may have felt more impactful, he posted a much lower average (.232) and OPS (.672) in his time with Boston than Refsnyder. And in his 53 games with the Red Sox, Pham had the same number of home runs as Refsnyder (six) and one less double (11 vs. 12).