Biggest winners, losers, and trade grades from Cardinals-White Sox-Dodgers trade

Winner: Tommy Pham

Pham was trying to play for a contender all offseason but was unable to find any interested suitors until Spring Training got underway. Still, nothing seemed to materialize, so Pham decided to take a deal with the White Sox so he could get some of the value he thought he deserved financially and play a lot.

We already talked about how good Pham has been against left-handed pitching, and overall, he's been a valuable player this year. His overall numbers include a .266/.330/.380 slash line with a 102 wRC+ in 297 plate appearances. The Cardinals have lacked offensive production this year, so the addition of Pham will go a long way for their club.

Pham will start against left-handed pitching while coming off the bench as a pinch hitter when a righty starts. He also makes for a really nice fourth outfielder whenever one of Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, or Michael Siani needs a break from the everyday lineup.

It was a tough first half for Pham to play for the White Sox, but he now gets the opportunity to play for a familiar organization and contending team in the second half.

Loser: Dylan Carlson

The person who Pham will replace on the roster is outfielder Dylan Carlson, who will surely be moved in a trade over the next 24 hours.

It's a tough pill to swallow for Carlson, but one he and everyone else have seen coming for a long time now. Once one of the top prospects in all of baseball and finishing top 3 in Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, Carlson has regressed each season since then and now looks like a shell of his former self.

Carlson is slashing .198/.275/.240 with a 52 wRC+ in 59 games for St. Louis and has basically lost any role with the club. Carlson occasionally starts when they really need an off day for someone or comes in as a defensive replacement late in games, but he has overall been a major negative for the team, evidenced by his -0.8 fWAR thus far.

It will be a win for Carlson once he is finally sent to a new team, but overall, he comes out as a loser due to the fall from grace he has been on.