3 former Red Sox players failing miserably with their new team in 2023
The Boston Red Sox have had an up-and-down start to the 2023 season. They sit at 14-14 which isn't too bad, but the pitching has been horrendous, and the team sits in last place in the ridiculously-good AL East.
Boston had an eventful offseason. The Masataka Yoshida signing was a good one, and he's swung the bat well in the early going. Justin Turner has been solid, while Kenley Jansen seems to be turning back the clock with a good start to his season as well. While most of the additions have performed, the talk of the offseason was about the subtractions.
Xander Bogaerts has gone to San Diego and carried that team through the first month of the season. Red Sox fans miss him and for good reason. J.D. Martinez has looked solid in Los Angeles, and Matt Strahm has looked good in a starting pitcher role for Philadelphia. It stings to see these players perform well on other teams, but there're other players Boston should be thankful they either traded away or let walk in free agency.
1) Former Red Sox player failing with his new team: Tommy Pham
Tommy Pham was at the center of a very weird trade deadline for the Boston Red Sox. They couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted to buy or sell, so they decided to do a little bit of both. They traded guys like Jake Diekman and Christian Vazquez away, but also acquired players like Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham.
The half-buy half-sell approach didn't make much sense, and Pham didn't do much of anything in his time in Boston. He had a .672 OPS and was the primary leadoff hitter on a Red Sox team that wasn't going anywhere.
Pham signed a one-year deal to join the Mets in more of a reduced role. He was brought in primarily to hit left-handed pitching. He's their primary DH against southpaws, and has slashed .194/.250/.361 with two home runs and five RBI in those spots. Not ideal.
Pham has a 76 OPS+ which is actually worse than the 86 OPS+ he had in Boston. Pham in a reduced role playing in a role he should succeed in hasn't done much of anything for a team that should be good in 2023.