Tommy Pham is one of the more interesting Pirates of our time.

A man who was hailed as the marquee offseason signing by a deeply unpopular general manager in Ben Cherington, Pham didn’t have it easy when he came to Pittsburgh.

There was a lot riding on his shoulders, probably more than even Pham at his best could deliver on. There was pressure for this team, now in year two of the Paul Skenes era, to win, even if the organization had done little to help the existing core here.

Then, when he started out slow, things turned ugly fast. Irate fans started to boo, their frustration aimed at both Pham and the front office who brought him in. Pham’s bat worsened, fan outrage grew, and things seemed destined to hit a breaking point.

But then, a miracle happened. Pham turned it around. Like, completely turned it around. He became one of the hottest bats in baseball, and his name started to circulate in trade rumors as the deadline came closer. Pham’s turnaround was happening at just the right time, one where he could fetch the Pirates an asset back.

Fast forward to now, and Pham is still here. In a deadline that saw Ke’Bryan Hayes and David Bednar traded, Pham is still here in Pittsburgh, and projects to be for the rest of the season.

He’s been one of the watchable Buccos over the last few months, even as the team around him as struggled and the general manager has disassembled chunks of it. It’s almost hard to believe that this same guy was getting booed every time he came to the plate at PNC Park a few months back.

All of this leads to a very interesting question: should the Pirates try to re-sign Pham?

Does the best version of the 2026 Pirates roster include Pham on it?

Pham’s turnaround over the summer has put his name back on the major league map, and he showed that, even with the awful start, he still has what it takes to be a major leaguer.

His experience, plus this recent run of success at the plate and a solid defensive season in the outfield, will ensure that someone will take him in next season.

But, he will turn 38 before next season starts. Two years ago, Pham made it all the way to the World Series, back when he was a rental in Arizona. Sadly for him, the Diamondbacks’ magical run fell short to Texas, leaving Pham and his teammates ringless.

Like almost any athlete who has yet to sit atop the hill of their respective sport, it would be hard to blame Pham for seeking only the best chance to win at his age.

But, does Pham potentially see that chance in Pittsburgh?

Now, before I go any further, allow me to be a cynic and say that I, personally, do not see Pham getting that chance here. At the very least, not until the front office gets an overhaul and the new general manager proves they know how to assemble any type of an offense.

And since there is no guarantee of that happening, Pham’s best bet is probably elsewhere.

However, I am not Tommy Pham. and if you listen to what he told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Wednesday, it sounds like maybe he does believe that there is a chance to win here.

“People can laugh at me all they want, but this team is really close,” Pham said, via Mackey, after the team’s Wednesday afternoon win to claim the series over Toronto. “I’ve seen teams go from last to 95 wins. If you look at the Cubs in 2014, there are plenty of examples going forward.”

Pham went on to talk about the leadership and approach that he and Andrew McCutchen have tried to help employ with the younger Pirates, helping to make the team harder outs.

“If you look at what we’ve been doing lately, how we’re grinding out at-bats, you look at guys like Jared [Triolo], he’s starting to become a tougher out,” Pham continued. “It’s stuff like that that we need guys to buy in offensively as a group to get the group to have success. Earlier in the year, there was a lot of early-out swinging, what we call non-productive at-bats. And it’s starting to change.”

So, can Pham see a scenario where he sticks around for another year, continuing to make an impact on the younger, less experienced hitters while locking down an outfield job? If he truly means what he says about this time being close, it has to at least cross his mind, right?

Unlike shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and lefty starter-turned-reliever Andrew Heaney, two rentals who were also not moved at the deadline, Pham isn’t directly blocking anyone in the farm system.

You can make the argument that Pham’s presence impedes the arrival of someone like utility man Nick Yorke or outfielder Billy Cook, but the Pirates don’t seem incredibly keen on promoting either. Both players are still in Triple-A, even with the season now completely dead and gone, while the team gives players like Jack Suwinski, Liover Peguero, and Ronny Simon major league at-bats.

Simply put, if the Pirates really wanted either one of Yorke or Cook up here, they would be up here.

So, Pham isn’t getting in the way of someone’s progression or big league chance, and he likely won’t next year either. Does that make the Pirates look at bringing him back?

McCutchen has talked about feeling like he can still play the outfield, should he return to Pittsburgh for another year. Could he and Pham split time in the outfield?

It’s hard to figure out exactly what his role on the 2026 club would look like until we see how some other stuff shakes out, but, it’s also hard to see how the offense can get better if you take out one of the team’s best bats.

Pham also said that the Pirates have a “playoff caliber pitching staff” and on that statement, I don’t think anyone can disagree.

Paul Skenes leads MLB with a 2.16 ERA. The young arms, like right-handers Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows, have come up and delivered, and there’s even more in the pipeline. Righty Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh’s top pitching prospect, is expected to be promoted Friday, and lefty Hunter Barco isn’t all that far behind.

In addition to that, righty Johan Oviedo is back and looking like his old self, and righty Jared Jones is expected to return midway through next season.

So, it all comes down to whether the offense can keep up with an electric staff on the other end. And at this point, keeping Pham in the fold might be one of the team’s better options in that department.

Season-wide, Pham is slashing .263/.335/.373 (.708 OPS) with six home runs and 36 RBI. That kind of production is not the one missing link between the Pirates and a World Series, but it’s certainly better than what a lot of other Pirate batters have done this year.

As things stand today, August 21st, Pham’s .263 batting average ranks only behind Nick Gonzales for the team lead. He’s top three on the tea in average, on-base percentage, and OPS.

Since he was given the gift of sight and notched his first home run of the season on June 23rd, he has slashed .319/.385/.507 (.892 OPS) over his last 40 games heading into Wednesday. Yesterday, his RBI double in the first inning brought two runs home for the Pirates, which stood as their only runs as they hung on for a 2-1 win.

In the outfield, Pham is keeping up the stellar defensive work. Per FieldingBible, Pham has a +8 in Defensive Runs Saved. The glove was good all year, and now that the bat has come around, Pham has turned into one of the team’s most important players, even if they are 20 games under water.

It’s crazy how a few months can entirely change the perspective on a player, but in my mind, the Pirates should absolutely explore re-signing Pham. Last winter, he signed with the team for $4.025 million. Offer him that exact same deal and see if he’s open to coming back.