Tommy Pham wins arbitration case over Rays, gets $4.1M

Outfielder Tommy Pham won his arbitration case against the Rays and will make $4.1 million this season.

The Rays, who have lost their last five cases, offered $3.5 million.

Pham was understandably pleased to win in his first year of eligibility, marking the first time he will make more than $570,100 after playing 13 pro seasons, and showed it by tweeting a thankful emoji and a link to the Young Dolph song Get Paid.

Among many lyrics that can’t be repeated here, the song says:

Rule number 1, get the money first.

Rule number 2, don’t forget to get the money

Play by these rules and everything will be okay

Pham, 31 next month, was acquired by the Rays from St. Louis on July 31 and, after being injured in his second game, came back to finish strong, hitting .355 with seven homers, 22 RBIs, a .452 on-base percentage and a 1.097 OPS in his final 37 games.

Hearings, which were held in St. Petersburg this year, can be an interesting experience, especially for the player, who sits through a presentation by officials representing his team pointing out negative things about his performance. Pham seemed to acknowledge that process in another tweet, saying he was glad he “got to see the true business side of the game” and was now ready to “focus on baseball” with an #Analytics hashtag,

The Rays, who have lost to Drew Smyly, Jake Odorizzi (twice), and Adeiny Hechavarria, are now 6-5 overall in arbitration.