Philadelphia Phillies should trade Ryan Howard now
The Philadelphia Phillies are considered one of the longest serving franchises within Major League Baseball with origins back to 1883. Sure, they have won 11 division titles, seven pennants and went on to win a World Series title in 1980 and more recently, one in 2008.Given that, the Philly Phanatic has relatively little to complain about in recent years. Except for maybe right now, the play of Ryan Howard, their former MVP.
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The Phillies have had a disastrous start to the 2015 season and if General Manager Ruben Amaro plays his cards right, he should be selling his high price talent very soon. It may only be late May, but now is the time to trade. Trade fast, trade often and trade well. There has to be pressure on the team to turn things around soon as well as pressure on the 50-year-old Amaro to produce those winning results. The last time the club tasted .500 baseball was in 2012 when they went 81-81.
Insert their first baseman Howard as exhibit A on the trade block. Since debuting in 2005 and being named Rookie of the Year that season in the National League, he has been recognized as Player of the Month five times over his career with the Phillies.
But after his MVP season in 2006, Howard has never replicated a batting average above .300 or an OPS above 1.000. He has, however, led the league in strikeouts twice since. Howard is currently third among active players in career whiffs at the dish. The time is now for the veteran slugger’s exit to be made from the NL. The only thing for sure is that keeping him in Philadelphia does not help him, or the Phillies’ organization — not with a $25 million price tag attached to him.
The remaining salary on Howard’s contract should yell out to the Phillies management that they should shop around for suitors like this seasons TV Bachelorette. Howard’s abilities are nowhere close to what they were like in his ripe years. He is hardly a threat at the plate and cannot man the first base position with the same skill that he once had. Howard does have occasional pop left in his bat. So if the Phillies shouldn’t pay that kind of money for a player who strikes out excessively, who should?
A few years back there were rumors that the Philadelphia Phillies had inquired about sending Ryan Howard to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies and Cardinals were going to do a straight trade of their respective first basemen. Howard would have been heading to St. Louis with Albert Pujols heading in the opposite direction to Philadelphia. The deal never materialized. Earlier this season, there were reports that Howard was going to be released from the team. However, Amaro nixed that idea.
For whatever reason it did not come to fruition, Amaro must now be more open-minded about fielding offers for the 35-year-old. He has potential to be a serviceable designated hitter for a lot of American League clubs hoping to contend. Keeping Howard rested by only giving him starts there versus RHP (career .285 BA) and letting him refuel when a LHP starts (.225) plus negating any efforts on defense could allow the veteran to be more like his old self. His extensive postseason experience would certainly be an added tool most AL contenders would appreciate. The Angels, for one, certainly need to do something about their DH conundrum.
The roster in Philadelphia is old. There is no nicer way to describe the franchise. Trading Howard could be a win for both parties involved. He would get a chance to win on a potential playoff team and the Phillies could get some assets back that would help the team for the future. Just how much of Howard’s remaining monies owed that Amaro’s office would be on the hook for is an interesting thought.
Everyone in baseball knows that the Philadelphia Phillies should be in a clear rebuild mode. Someone needs to remind Amaro of that. They are not to be taken as World Series threats. They are not going to make the playoffs. Trading Ryan Howard is a small answer to the Phillies regaining some financial flexibility. Amaro’s stubbornness or unwillingness to part with these veterans is only hurting the team. It is not helping.