Phillies’ Ryan Howard can veto trade to 20 teams

By Charles Rahrig V | Jan 6, 2015

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (6) reacts after grounding into a inning ending double play in the the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

The former MVP Ryan Howard has the right to block trades to several teams

The Philadelphia Phillies have traded away veteran players this offseason after a poor showing last year with a 73-89 record. Jimmy Rollins was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Antonio Bastardo was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now they are trying to move their once franchise first baseman Ryan Howard.

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The 35-year-old Howard has missed 173 games the last two years and has been struggling at the plate when he is healthy and playing. Howard batted .223 last year with 23 home runs and 95 RBI’s. He also struck out a resounding 190 times which was tops in the majors.

Their are two big obstacles currently in the way of trading Howard elsewhere. The first obstacle is his albatross 5-year/$125 million dollar contract he is currently under with Philadelphia. Howard has two more years through 2016 of receiving $25 million and the Phillies hold a club option in 2017 for $23 million or $10 million if they buy him out. So Howard is still guaranteed another $60 million wherever he plays.

Not too many teams will be lining up to pay a guy whose best days are long behind him $60 million. The Phillies would almost undoubtedly be asked to kick in some cash if they did move him to offset the costs.

The other big obstacle standing in the way of the Phillies overtures, is Howard has the right to block a trade to 20 teams which handcuffs who the Philadelphia can deal with, making the chances of trading him slim and his contract even slimmer. There are nine teams in which Howard would not block a trade to.

Those teams are the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and the Detroit Tigers.

General manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. has explicitly told Howard they are trying to trade him and that the team is heading in a different direction. We’ve talked to Ryan,” Amaro told 97.5 the Fanatic, “And I told him that in our situation it would probably bode better for the organization not with him but without him. With that said if he’s with us, then we’ll work around him.”

The Phillies and Howard have a clear understanding of the situation going forward. The franchise appears to be moving forward as well with the moves they have made this offseason, with or without Howard.

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