MLB Rumors: Ryan Howard expected to finish season with Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies have been trying to trade Ryan Howard for the last couple seasons, but he’s now expected to finish this season with the team.
Ryan Howard’s decline has mirrored the decline of the Philadelphia Phillies, from a World Series title in 2008 to becoming a cellar-dweller in recent years. The team has been willing to trade him over the last couple seasons, but a bloated contract has prevented interest from other teams.
Howard is in the final year of his contract, with a $23 million club option or a $10 million buyout for 2017. He’s also been hitting well lately, with a .394/.444/.909 slash-line, five home runs and 13 RBI in 10 August games entering Saturday. Going back a bit further, Howard is hitting .338 with eight home runs, 18 RBI and a 1.116 OPS over 71 plate appearances since July 1. So it would seem Howard is a prime candidate to be clear waivers, and then be traded sometime this month.
Not so fast, as Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported Howard is likely to finish the season with the Phillies. The team sees value as a mentor to a group of young players, perhaps far beyond what Howard would fetch in a trade. The trade market for Howard is likely limited to American League teams that could use him as designated hitter, so keeping him might be the best course.
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Phillies’ general manager Matt Klentak offered praise for Howard, which points to the expectation he’ll be kept around.
"“I know especially early in the year, it was a trying year for him,”“To see the way that he has handled all of that, and continued to grind, continued to work hard and to earn the playing time and now to be performing as well as he is for the last month or so, it’s a really good story. If this is in fact Ryan’s last year in Philadelphia, he’s helping to write a nice end to it.”"
Howard has spent his entire 13-year career with the Phillies, and he has 376 home runs. As multiple veterans have been let go over the last few years, Howard and catcher Carlos Ruiz are the only two remaining players from Philadelphia’s 2008 World Series team.