Tommy Pham not backing down after wild accusation of Toronto Blue Jays player
Tommy Pham has quickly become public enemy number one amongst Toronto Blue Jays fans.
Pham, who is notorious for being hot-headed, helped start a bench-clearing between the Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday after a war of words between himself and catcher Tyler Heineman. Cooler heads did prevail on the field, though Heineman expressed his confusion about the entire incident afterward, saying it was “unprovoked and super weird.”
Pham took to X shortly after the game to attempt to clear up the confusion with Heineman, stating that he took exception to the Blue Jays catcher arguing what he believed was a clear ball in his at-bat (Heineman argued it should have been a strike).
That entire ordeal was quite minor compared to what took place shortly afterward, however.
Several Blue Jays fans began replying to Pham on X, including one who happened to have Addison Barger as their profile picture. That prompted Pham to insinuate that the Blue Jays’ third baseman has taken performance enhancers.
can't delete screenshots https://t.co/Mak2UxTo6y pic.twitter.com/dUpLJUe5jo
— Michelle ❤️🔥 (@smishrae) August 19, 2025
Though Pham’s original tweet (seen above) seemed to suggest that Barger was currently on performance enhancers, he later tweeted out a screenshot of an article that stated the 25-year-old was suspended for them back in 2019.
While Barger was indeed suspended for a drug policy violation in 2019, a report from The Athletic’s Eno Sarris shows that it could have been amphetamines for therapeutic use rather than steroids.
That claim was seemingly backed up by Barger himself this afternoon, as he told Mitch Bannon of The Athletic that his 50-game suspension in 2019 was for a stimulant rather than a steroid. He also made it clear that he has continued to be tested every year since with no issue.
Spoke with Addison Barger. He wanted it clarified that he was suspended for a stimulant not a steroid – 50 games in 2019.
He’s been tested every year since, as every player is, with no discipline since. #BlueJays
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) August 19, 2025
What made Pham choose to lash out in a seemingly random attack on Barger remains unknown, but, in meeting with the media ahead of Tuesday’s game, the 37-year-old made no apologies for the messages he sent out.
“Let them know I speak in facts,” Pham said to Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson.
Stopped by the Pirates’ clubhouse this afternoon to speak to Tommy Pham.
He didn’t want to elaborate on his posts after last night’s game against the #BlueJays, but made it clear he stands by them and wanted this to be passed along:
“Let them know I speak in facts.”
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) August 19, 2025
Blue Jays fans hoping to see their team exact revenge on Pham this afternoon will be disappointed, however, as he is being held out of the Pirates’ lineup for the second game of this three-game series. Should he be back in on Wednesday, we could see some fireworks between these two teams.