Cardinals legend discusses Tommy Pham trade, recalls pivotal moment

As part of the trade that sent Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers and landed them right-hander Erick Fedde, the St. Louis Cardinals also brought back a familiar face.

Tommy Pham came with Fedde from the Chicago White Sox and re-joined his old squad. He has made an impact with the Cardinals almost instantly.

The 36-year-old hit a pinch-hit grand slam in his first game back on Tuesday and picked up three hits the following day.

On Wednesday, Cardinals legend and current FOX Sports analyst Adam Wainwright discussed the trade and recalled the moment he knew Pham was a special player after a tough loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field.

"Tommy Pham goes around the room pointing at people," Wainwright recalled. "I mean I'm talking about pointing at people. A couple of young guys look up at me like 'Are you going to stop this guy?' And I look over at Yadi, and I thought 'You know what? He's right.' Everything that he was saying about every single person was right."

Wainwright was Pham's teammate in St. Louis from 2014-18, so he can certainly attest to what kind of player Pham is, and it's clear that at that moment, Wainwright knew Pham was meant to be an influential clubhouse voice.

"This dude is a winner," Wainwright continued. "He's a winner and he is going to do what it takes to get himself ready to play. And if you don't play to that standard, he's going to let you know about it."

Pham already appears to have lit a fire underneath the Cardinals, proving Wainwright's point about his leadership qualities. He came up big and helped the Cardinals take two out of three from the Texas Rangers.

The extra veteran leadership should help the Cardinals as they try to chase down the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central and fight for a spot in the postseason following last year's 71-91 finish.

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