Ryne Sandberg Resigns as Phillies Manager: Latest Details and Reaction

Ryne Sandberg resigned from his role as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday with the team holding the worst record in baseball at 26-48. The Phillies announced that Pete Mackanin will take over as manager on an interim basis.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed the Baseball Hall of Famer’s departure. Although the Phillies clearly lacked the necessary talent to contend for a postseason berth this season, Rosenthal provided some thoughts from behind the scenes on why the club may have wanted to go in a different direction:

Sandberg compiled a 119-159 record across parts of three seasons with the Phillies. The organization is currently caught in the middle, with a necessary rebuild at hand but several veteran players like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Cole Hamels still on the roster.

Fox Sports MLB passed along Sandberg’s comments about his decision to resign:

His future status with the club was also in question, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, so his decision to leave now avoids any possible conflict:

Simply put, it’s hard to imagine any top candidates wanting the Phillies job right now. They are a team in transition, and it’s going to take some time to sort things out. The rebuild may also require some big trades at the deadline, so Mackanin could hold the position until season’s end.

The outlook for Philadelphia should become more clear after the trade deadline, as the team will likely deal its aging players while bringing in replacements to build around. At that point, it should become easier to sell the managerial job to prospective candidates, who will be able to help craft and mold the roster their way for the future.

With Sandberg apparently feeling change on the horizon, he decided to step away on his terms. And with the team struggling, it’s hard to blame him.  

 

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Cole Hamels’ Phillies Life as a Never-Ending Trade Rumor Should End Soon

Much like Cole Hamels, I could think of something really funny to say, but I’d rather just be truthful.

And the truth is that, as the long-running Hamels trade saga winds toward an end, it actually looks like it will end up working out well for almost everyone. A team will get a 31-year-old left-hander who can still be a difference-maker, Hamels will be liberated from the mess the Phillies have become and the Phillies will take a significant step toward fixing that mess.

Perhaps general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will even get a touch of redemption, but that’s doubtful. Even if the Phillies end up making a great trade when they finally deal Hamels—to the Dodgers, Rangers, Yankees or some surprise entrant—the credit will probably go to Pat Gillick or even to Andy MacPhail, who appears close to succeeding Gillick as the most important baseball chief at Citizens Bank Park, as reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Amaro had his chance last year, last winter or even in July 2012, when the Phillies signed Hamels to a $144 million, six-year contract extension instead of trading him.

At the time, it seemed like a reasonable decision by a franchise that had won the National League East five straight years. It looks different now, with the Phillies headed for a third straight losing season and quite possibly their first 100-loss season since 1961.

No one should blame Hamels for wanting to stay in 2012, and no one should blame him for wanting out now.

No one should blame him for trying hard not to say that he wants out. (He declined to speak to reporters Monday, and even after saying he’d be truthful rather than funny, he insisted he doesn’t think much about getting traded.) Now that the Phillies finally seem determined to move him, why would he want to risk saying anything that could hamper those efforts?

“It’s just kind of normal, going on 12 months,” he said, when someone asked about pitching while scouts watch and writers speculate. “I could think of something really funny to say,” Hamels said, “but I’d rather just be truthful with you. No, I don’t [think about it].”

He insists it doesn’t bother him, and maybe it shouldn’t. Hamels has some control over the process (his contract says he can be traded without his permission to only nine teams of his choosing), and when it’s over, it’s almost certain that he’ll be in a better place.

“I’ve got to pitch every five days,” he said. “I’ve just got to stay healthy.”

He said this after his first start in 10 days, after he was skipped once because of what he and the Phillies called a minor hamstring issue. It’s believable now that it really was minor, because it’s not in the Phillies’ interest to take any chances with the one asset that could jump-start the rebuilding process and because Hamels looked healthy in his start at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

The Phils took two big chances already by not trading Hamels last July or last winter. Pitchers’ arms are fragile, perhaps now more than ever. Performance can fade quickly too, depressing interest. But Hamels has avoided any big health issues and is pitching as well as he ever has.

His fastball velocity is actually higher now than it was in his three All-Star seasons (he hit 95 mph and averaged 93.5 on Wednesday, according to BrooksBaseball.net), and his other numbers are right around his career averages. The fact that the Phillies are 35-43 in Hamels’ 78 starts since his extension kicked in says more about the team than it does about him.

Even on a trade market that could include Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and others (the Boston Globe reported Thursday that some teams are hoping the Red Sox trade Clay Buchholz), Hamels will likely be the top prize.

The Dodgers sent one of their top scouts to watch him Wednesday, which was not surprising, considering they need pitching now and will need more if Zack Greinke does the expected and opts out of his contract after this season.

The Rangers were mentioned this week by Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi, and on the same day, columnist Kevin Kernan wrote in the New York Post that the Yankees need to get Hamels at any cost.

The talks will continue, and Hamels will wait, although he did try to bring in a little levity when he playfully cleaned out his locker one day during the Phillies’ last homestand.

The Phillies can market Hamels as a guy who might get you to the World Series this year, knows what to do once he’s there (his seven postseason wins are tied for second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia’s nine) and is signed to a reasonable contract that still has three seasons to run after this one.

When the Phillies signed Hamels, the idea was that he was young enough to survive whatever necessary rebuilding they needed and still contribute to their next winning team. They could still make that argument now, except the Phillies are such a mess that it’s hard to see that next winning team coming within the next two or three years.

MacPhail’s pending arrival could mean the end for both Amaro and manager Ryne Sandberg, who was handed a difficult situation but seems to be confirming the opinion of others that he wouldn’t be very good at the job. The Phillies have some top young talent, both in the big leagues (Maikel Franco) and in the minors (Double-A shortstop J.P. Crawford), but they don’t have nearly enough of it.

They have other trade chips too, in closer Jonathan Papelbon and perhaps even first baseman Ryan Howard. But both of them come with big contracts and big questions, and neither could bring the kind of return the Phillies really need.

Hamels can, and he probably will. And he’s going to do it with his strong left arm, not with any funny comments coming out of his mouth.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.

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Franco Becomes 3rd Rookie in MLB History with Consecutive 5-RBI Games

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco had another huge night against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, becoming just the third rookie in MLB history to record five RBI in consecutive games, as well as the first player ever to have five RBI in back-to-back games against the Yankees, per the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

On the heels of a four-hit, two-homer, five-RBI performance in Monday’s 11-8 win over the Bronx Bombers, Franco collected two hits in three at-bats during Tuesday’s 11-6 victory, also drawing a walk and getting hit by a pitch.

His night started off innocently enough, with a groundout in his first at-bat, followed by a walk in his second.

Franco then got the best of Yankees starter CC Sabathia in his third plate appearance, hitting a three-run homer in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead.

After getting hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, Franco smacked a two-run double off of near-unhittable Yankees reliever Dellin Betances in the top of the ninth, turning a 6-6 tie into an 8-6 lead.

The Phillies extended the lead to 11-6 by the end of the inning, and they’ve now shockingly scored 31 runs over the last three games, having previously beaten the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 9-2 on Sunday.

Although the three-game winning streak is meaningless in the context of a lost season, Franco’s emergence has been the highlight of the year for a rebuilding franchise.

After struggling mightily during a brief stint (56 at-bats) in the majors last year, the rookie owns a .319/.368/.604 batting line through 37 games this season, with 10 home runs, 20 extra-base hits, 29 RBI, 23 runs and a stolen base in 144 at-bats.

He has made six errors at the hot corner, but even so, he’s already been worth 1.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs.

That figure puts him 10th among all third basemen this season, and only 10 players at any position have accumulated more WAR than Franco (1.5) over the last 30 days.

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Phillies’ Freddy Galvis Drops Perfect Bunt Against Yankees

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis laid down a masterful bunt in the fourth inning of Monday’s 11-8 win over the New York Yankees.

And we mean masterful.

The ball stopped right on the edge of the third-base line.

Galvis got a single out of it before eventually scoring on a double by second baseman Cesar Hernandez, whose line drive to right field lifted the Phillies to a 6-2 lead with one out.

[MLB]

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Cole Hamels Injury: Updates on Phillies Star’s Hamstring and Return

Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels is dealing with a mild hamstring strain suffered on June 18, but he is planning to make his next scheduled start on June 23.

Continue for updates.

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Hamels on Track to Start Wednesday vs. Yankees

Sunday, June 21

“Hamels just threw a bullpen session. He gave a thumps up afterward. He’s expecting to start Wednesday in New York,” according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

On Friday, Hamels said he doesn’t expect to need a stint on the disabled list with his injury and that he plans to make his next scheduled start next week, per Zolecki.

Any type of serious ailment would obviously be a major setback for the Phillies’ rotation.

The 31-year-old left-hander has remained durable throughout his career. He’s made at least 30 starts in every season since 2008. That’s obviously added to his value given the high number of pitchers around the league who have dealt with arm or shoulder trouble.

Hamels is the anchor of a Phillies staff that needs him in it. With a severe dearth of quality arms to replace him, the sooner he can get back the better.

 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why They’ll Be a Seller by the All-Star Break

Merely one month into the MLB season and teams are already beginning to separate themselves in the division as races start to shape up.

Although the 2015 MLB All-Star break is still more than two months out, the teams quickly descending to the bottom of the standings are beginning to figure out whether to buy or to sell before the game.

One team primed to be a seller this summer are the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that has gotten off to an 8-15 start and currently sits fifth in the NL East.

Injuries have piled up for the Phillies, which has led the pitching to fall to the bottom third of the league in most statistical categories. In addition, the team suffers from a lack of offensive production.

With the New York Mets leading the NL East and a three-way battle brewing in for second place, the Phillies are in a position to trade away their top assets. 

Just 23 games into the 2015 season, the Phillies have mustered only eight wins and are struggling to keep pace with the NL East front-running Mets. The Mets own a 15-8 record and have been dominant at Citi Field. 

Both the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals remain in contention, too. The Nationals have won three in a row, while the Marlins have ripped off two straight. Meanwhile, the Phillies continue to dig themselves into a deeper hole with three consecutive losses.

Currently, five pitchers sit on the Phillies disabled list. Among them are Cliff Lee and Chad Billingsley, who were expected to be pivotal parts of the starting rotation.

Billingsley is on the 15-day DL and could be activated as early as next weekend for the showdown against the Mets, according to the Philly.com.

Lee, on the other hand, is on the 60-day DL. He’s currently deciding between rehab for a left forearm strain or surgery, which would end his 2015 season. In March, Lee told Philly.com that he was leaning toward giving rehab a third chance.

With both Lee and Billingsley sidelined, the Phillies have had to rely on the likes of Jerome Williams (3.80 ERA), David Buchanan (8.76 ERA) and Severino Gonzalez (23.63 ERA). Along with Cole Hamels (3.19 ERA) and Aaron Harang (2.51 ERA), the Phillies rank 21st in MLB in team pitching, behind three rival NL East clubs.

Offensively, the Phillies have endured even more struggles. The lineup has been short of Domonic Brown all season long, while their usual sluggers, such as Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, have struggled with been inconsistent. 

Utley has batted .114 in 21 games played, and his counterpart Howard is at .194 in 20 games. As a team, the Phillies rank 29th in the league in offense with a team batting average of .223. Additionally, the Phillies rank 26th in home runs (13), 29th in on-base percentage (.280) and 30th in runs scored (63).

As the Phillies continue to sputter, they find themselves with no other options other than to start dealing. Among the chips that could be angled include none other than Hamels. 

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro has received a bevy of phone calls about the availability of the team’s longtime ace, and according to USA TODAY, the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have all expressed some level of interest.

Per the report, the Phillies would only send Hamels in exchange for a player they could turn into their centerpiece in the future. 

The Cardinals are without their ace, Adam Wainwright, who was lost for the season with a torn Achilles. Brandon McCarthy, the Dodgers’ prized free-agent signee, is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery. The Blue Jays need to find a suitable replacement for Marcus Stroman, and the Red Sox rank dead last in MLB with a 5.04 team ERA.

If the Phillies intend on being sellers, they also can try to shed closer Jonathan Papelbon and his $13 million salary to any buyers. 

Papelbon owns a 1.08 ERA and five saves in eight appearances out of the Philadelphia pen, but the team has little need for a stopper as it continues to plummet in the standings. To shed his salary would be ideal for Philadelphia, and the Blue Jays—who also reportedly have interest in Hamels—also have been in the mix for Papelbon, per CSNPhilly.com.

However, Toronto dropped out of those talks as the season progressed, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman.

there are no discussions ongoing with the jays regarding papelbon, by the way

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) March 29, 2015

In addition to those two pitchers, the Phillies may consider dealing Utley. Although the veteran second baseman is not putting up All-Star statistics so far this season, he is an impending free agent.

The team would be wise to try to get something in exchange for Utley, instead of simply allowing him to walk for free.

Utley previously made it clear to the organization that he did not want to leave Philadelphia, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, but that position may have changed with the team’s current standing.

But there is some curiosity about whether this will change, in the face of the Phillies’ dim prospects now or in the immediate future. Jimmy Rollins chose to leave, accepting a trade to the Dodgers, and rival evaluators believe Cole Hamels wants out, as well.

Utley is a California native that attended UCLA. Naturally, both Los Angeles teams—the Dodgers and the Angels—make season for that reason. Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick is batting .295 this year with 14 RBI. Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella is batting .317 with 10 RBI. 

All signs point to the Phillies making some moves before the 2015 MLB All-Star break. They’ve been rumored to do so for months, and all signs point to it finally coming to fruition.

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Cole Hamels Trade Rumors: Latest News and Speculation on Phillies Pitcher

The Philadelphia Phillies aren’t hiding their interest in trying to find a trade partner for Cole Hamels. As a result, the only question may be when he gets moved rather than if a deal will happen.

Continue for updates.

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Phillies GM Discusses Situation

Wednesday, April 29

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are among the potential suitors for Hamels. General manager Ruben Amaro told the outlet he knows finding the right move might take awhile, though.

“I understand that teams go through the first month of the season trying to access what their needs are and what they have internally,” Amaro said. “Some clubs will be all hellbent on contending. Other teams will be trying to decide whether they’re contenders or not. We understand that takes time.”

Hamels has been one of the most durable, effective starting pitchers in baseball over the past decade.

The 31-year-old left-hander owns a career 3.27 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over 280 games. He’s struck out 8.5 batters per nine innings pitched. And he has made at least 28 starts in eight consecutive seasons dating back to 2007.

Philadelphia is not a team built to contend in the short term. The window for its aging roster has passed, and the time to rebuild has come. If there was any doubt about going down that road, it was erased during the club’s 8-13 start.

Hamels is probably the most valuable piece of the remaining core. Getting the biggest possible return for him is essential to a successful retooling process. That’s why Amaro sounds willing to wait until the right package of young MLB players and future prospects comes along.

How long the process will take and whether any other trade partners will emerge is a mystery. That said, Hamels is definitely a pitcher with the ability to reshape the World Series picture if he moves.  

 

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Cole Hamels Struts His Stuff as List of Suitors Grows

Every start Cole Hamels makes is an audition. And with each performance, his audience appears to be growing.

If that is indeed the case, they must be liking what they’re seeing.

Hamels made his fifth start of 2015 Monday night, and it was a good one. The ace left-hander led the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals with seven innings of one-run ball. He did allow four walks, but he also permitted just four hits and struck out nine.

That makes it three starts out of four that Hamels has pitched at least six innings while allowing no more than one earned run. His overall ERA is 3.19, which looks an awful lot like his career 3.27 ERA. If one didn’t know any better, one would say he’s still one of the best pitchers in the National League.

So, that sound you’re hearing is Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. rubbing his hands together with excitement. He has a pretty massive rebuilding job on his hands, and the guy who was supposed to be his best trade chip isn’t letting him down.

That alone would be good enough for Hamels’ trade value. But as you might have noticed, what’s helping it even further is that his list of possible suitors is growing by the day.

And at the top of the list might be the team Hamels just beat.

The Cardinals confirmed Monday that staff ace Adam Wainwright has been lost for the season with a torn Achilles. He’s a guy few pitchers are capable of replacing, and the club’s in-house options certainly fall well short in that regard. 

Because it’s still only April, the Cardinals understandably aren’t rushing to make a trade. But GM John Mozeliak did tell Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he “might have to look outside” eventually, and it’s a good bet Hamels will be at the top of his wish list if and when that time comes.

It was reported during the winter that the Cardinals were interested in trading for Hamels, with the idea being to add a left-handed ace to their rotation. The 31-year-old’s production obviously still fits the bill, and so does his stuff. FanGraphs can vouch that Hamels’ velocity is still in the low-90s, and that his trademark changeup is once again contributing to an outstanding swinging-strike rate.

There is one complication, though. The Cardinals might be able to afford to take on the bulk of Hamels’ remaining contract—four years and at least $100 million—but Bob Nightengale of USA Today says they “don’t quite have the pieces” to satisfy the rebuilding Phillies in trade talks.

Part of that has to do with how there are at least two other major suitors whose need for Hamels has only gotten larger.

One is the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were also connected to Hamels over the winter, and they too have an injured starter that needs replacing. The club announced Monday that veteran right-hander Brandon McCarthy needs Tommy John surgery, and is done for the year.

Because the Dodgers are even shorter on in-house options than the Cardinals, what Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register says here makes perfect sense:

The Dodgers are indeed a legit threat to land Hamels. This is yet another championship-or-bust season for them, and they have more than enough money to afford him. According to Baseball America, they also have the No. 3 farm system in the league to entice the Phillies with.

But the Boston Red Sox might be able to beat the Dodgers to the punch if they deem their need for Hamels strong enough. And the way things are going, it’s trending in that direction.

The Red Sox don’t have any major injury problems in their starting rotation. Their problem is more that the rotation itself is a problem, as the 5.84 ERA owned by Boston starters is by far the worst in baseball. They’re obliging the many skeptics who claimed the Red Sox rotation was lacking a truly reliable starter.

If the Red Sox decide Hamels can be that guy, they definitely have the means to go get him. They also have a lot of money to throw around, as well as Baseball America’s No. 2-ranked farm system. It’s been reported that the Red Sox won’t part with Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart to land Hamels, but they have plenty of other goodies they can pony up to get him.

The Cardinals, Dodgers and Red Sox were already lurking on the Hamels market before the season even began. Now it’s probably fair to say the three of them are front and center, and that any of the three could decide in the near future that having Hamels is a necessity rather than a luxury.

But they may not be alone there.

The Chicago Cubs were another team linked to Hamels over the winter, and they could still move on him with 2015 shaping up to be a return to form for the franchise. Like the Red Sox, the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox are would-be contenders in need of starting pitching. Justin Verlander fell from grace in 2014 and is now dealing with a nagging arm injury, so don’t rule out the Detroit Tigers as a mystery team in the Hamels sweepstakes.

This is all music to the ears of Amaro. He was criticized during the winter for putting too high a price on Hamels, and warned by some know-it-alls that waiting to deal him during the summer was an unnecessary roll of the dice. But the way things are shaping up, it now looks like there’s a real chance his gamble will pay off.

For now, it’s unlikely anything is imminent. Prospective Hamels suitors and all other teams are still in the beta testing phases of their seasons, so it’s a bit soon for such a massive trade to go down. The Hamels waiting game will probably be resolved in weeks, not days.

But a blockbuster trade should happen eventually. With needs for Hamels’ services arising left and right and in all the right places, this is a scenario that’s seemingly been upgraded from an “if” to a “when.”

Assuming, of course, that Hamels can keep nailing his auditions.

 

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference unless otherwise noted/linked.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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Best Tweets Surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies as MLB Opening Day Nears

With the start of April comes the anticipation for Opening Day as the Philadelphia Phillies begin their season with a home opener against the Boston Red Sox on April 6.

Philadelphia fans withstood a poor 2014 season as the Phillies finished in last place in the NL East with a 73-89 record. The sad part is the Phillies look to be in even worse shape this season.

Philadelphia’s general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. traded away long-time Phillies stalwart Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers in an attempt to restock the farm system. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Cole Hamels still remain from the 2008 World Series team, but the front office is actively shopping the veterans in an attempt to rebuild the team.

Aging veterans like Utley and Howard do not hold much value in the trade market, but removing Howard’s enormous salary would be a major boost to the club.

On Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park, Hamels will toe the rubber and deliver the first pitch of the season for the Phillies. However, Hamels’ future is uncertain as he does hold trade value at 31 years old after coming off an impressive season with a 2.46 ERA.

One Philadelphia name that is not going anywhere is Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, as the former third-baseman will increase his television presence this season.

Phillies fans may still watch the team in their own home at their own leisure, but will people show up to Citizens Bank Park?

Filling a bad team’s stadium with even die-hard fans is a struggle, so how do you fill the seats? By offering a towering mountain of beef.

To go along with the burgers, the Phillies also announced they will be serving hard liquor and wine in the stadium this year.

Now remember, this is the fan base that threw snowballs at Santa Claus. Do they really need any help in getting more belligerent and riled up? The fans will most likely already be in bad spirits due to the team’s performances, and libations can only make it worse.

The Philadelphia Phillies may not be a national storyline, but the potential to add Utley, Howard or Hamels to a contender would attract the eyes of the top teams in the league.

Being a fan of a team that may finish the season as the worst in Major League Baseball can be difficult. However, fans will likely still flood South Philadelphia to catch one of the best pitchers in baseball kick-off summer.

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Ryan Howard Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz and Speculation Surrounding Phillies Star

Ryan Howard has been a cornerstone for the Philadelphia Phillies throughout his career, but it remains to be seen if he’ll stay with the organization as it considers trading him away.

Continue for updates.

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Phillies Reportedly Cover Financial Burden to Move Howard

Wednesday, March 18

Anthony Castrovince of Sports on Earth reported news of the Phillies’ attempt to trade Howard:

Howard is not, will not be and arguably never was the guy worthy of a $125 million extension in 2010, and the Phillies acknowledged as much in trade talks this winter, telling (uninterested) teams they’re willing to swallow a significant sum of the $60 million still owed to Howard over the next two years. Word is, the team would be willing to take on somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million.

The Phillies appear to be at a crossroads entering the 2015 regular season. The team is currently dealing with an injury to Cliff Lee, which could eventually require surgery. Veteran pitcher Cole Hamels has been in trade rumors for months, and this isn’t even the first time we’ve heard Howard’s name mentioned in trade talks.

On March 9, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, citing sources, reported “the Orioles are keeping an eye on Howard this spring.” It’s no surprise teams would be monitoring Howard, as he is performing fairly well thus far in spring training, according to Castrovince:

Scouts have noted that Howard has looked more fleet of foot and bat alike. On Sunday, he went deep for the second time this spring. Manager Ryne Sandberg noted Howard has found a stance and a swing that allows him to utilize the whole field.

“I think he’s found something he’s comfortable with,” Sandberg said, “and he’s getting results.”

If the Phillies feel the organization is best suited long-term by moving Howard in order to develop a younger player, covering the majority of his salary is a worthwhile move. The Orioles would also make sense as a trade partner since the Phillies wouldn’t have to see Howard in the American League, and at 35 years old with injury concerns, Howard would be a suitable designated hitter. 

Despite playing in 71 games in 2012 and 80 games in 2013, Howard bounced back last season to play in 153 games. For his career, Howard has accumulated 334 home runs and 1,058 RBI.

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