Ryan Howard wants another shot at a championship, but the league’s contenders have much better options than the aging former Phillies slugger.
Some people may have assumed that Ryan Howard retired from baseball last year. After the Philadelphia Phillies honored Howard on the last weekend of the season it was easy to see why. Howard, however, is making it clear that his services are available. The real question is whether or not any team will be interested in those services.
Howard is now 37 years old and the options for his return would surely be limited. If a team did take a flyer on Howard it would most likely be in a DH role. Unfortunately for Howard that would more than likely mean half of the teams would not even be an option. Any American League team looking for a left-handed DH will have a lot of younger options available.
After the 2016 season there were five teams that needed to address the DH position. The Astros, Yankees, A’s, White Sox and Rays. The Astros signed Carlos Beltran shortly after the season. The Yankees brought in 37-year-old Matt Holliday. Melky Cabrera appears most likely to see the bulk of DH time in Chicago. The A’s recently added Trevor Plouffe and the Rays have Chris Dickerson. The current 1B/DH free agent market is also pretty deep. Players like Pedro Alvarez, Brandon Moss, Mark Reynolds, Chris Carter and Mike Napoli are still available.
Some people will look at Howard’s numbers from the 2016 season and say, “Well, he did hit 25 home runs.” However, if you take a deeper dive into the numbers you will see why Howard’s 2016 season compared to current 1B/DH free agents is more than likely his last.
| Player | Age | AB | BA | HR | RBI | SO | SLG | OBP | OPS |
| Alvarez | 29 | 337 | .249 | 22 | 49 | 97 | .504 | .322 | .826 |
| Lind | 33 | 401 | .239 | 20 | 58 | 89 | .431 | .286 | .717 |
| Moss | 33 | 413 | .225 | 28 | 67 | 141 | .484 | .300 | .784 |
| Reynolds | 33 | 393 | .282 | 14 | 53 | 112 | .450 | .356 | .806 |
| Howard | 37 | 313 | .196 | 25 | 59 | 114 | .453 | .257 | .710 |
Howard struck out 114 times in 313 at-bats last year. He batted .196 and had the lowest on-base percentage of any first baseman who logged over 50 at-bats. To bring it all together, his offensive WAR was -0.6 in 2016.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Next: Stanton to Join Team USA in WBC
Ryan Howard at one point was one of the most feared hitters in baseball. A former World Series Champion, NL MVP, three-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year. Howard’s main focus now is adding another World Series title to his resume. He is training hard in hopes of getting a chance to do just that. Unfortunately for Howard, his age will more than likely be his biggest challenge and father time is undefeated.