When asked what happened, Pederson explained that he and Pham participate in a fantasy football league together. More than a year ago, Pederson said there was a disagreement about a transaction he had made in which he moved a player who was listed as out to injured reserve. He said a text message sent to a group chat for the league accused him of cheating for “stashing” players on his bench. He did not say directly that Pham had sent the message.
“I looked up the rules and sent a screenshot of the rules, how it says when a player is ruled out you’re allowed to put them on the I.R., and that’s all I was doing,” Pederson said.
Pederson expressed confusion that Pham was upset about the move; he said that Pham had executed a similar transaction with his own roster, going as far as to offer who the player in question was with Pham’s team.
“It just so happened that he had a player, Jeff Wilson, who was out, and he had him on the I.R.,” Pederson said. “I said ‘you literally have the same thing on your bench.’”
Pederson said Friday’s incident did not have much lead-up. Pham approached him, asked if he remembered the issue, Pederson confirmed he did, and Pham slapped him across the cheek.
Pederson said he chose not to retaliate.
“I didn’t get emotional and I don’t think violence is the answer,” he said. “So I kind of left the situation.”
Pham was eventually pulled from Cincinnati’s starting lineup. He and Reds Manager David Bell declined to address the slap after the game, but Kapler, the Giants manager, said that the league would look into the incident.
“Major League Baseball is investigating it, and until that’s complete, I’m probably not going to say much on it,” Kapler said.