First baseman Ryan Howard is one of the veterans the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to trade as they endure their rebuilding period. The 35-year-old garnered little-to-no trade interest throughout the offseason, but that may change in spring training.
Howard has endured three consecutive seasons of struggles and it all began in October of 2011 when he ruptured his Achilles tendon. His 2012 and 2013 campaigns were shortened due to that injury as well as a number of others, and in 2014 he was dealing with legal and financial drama concerning his family, which perhaps further contributed to his offensive struggles.
He managed to hit 23 home runs and drive in 95 runs, but he slashed .223/.310/.380/.690 with only 18 doubles. It also isn't helpful that he's guaranteed $60 million over the next two seasons.
However, it appears as if Howard has focused on getting in shape this offseason and has his mind on baseball, which could bode well for the Phillies' front office as well as teams in need of a first baseman or designated hitter.
"His body right now looks like it will allow him to be more productive and have a good spring training camp," said manager Ryne Sandberg, via Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly. "Just running the bases he even looks better. It looks like he has a much better chance of scoring from second base, much better getting to the cut-off spot playing first base. There should be some more range there with the way he looks from the waist down."
Salibury wrote his "improved physical condition stands out in baserunning and fielding drills."
Howard's physical health limited him to 151 total games in 2012 and 2013, but he returned in 2014 to play 153 games and would like to continue that streak of longevity. It's not likely he gets traded during spring training because teams would still like to see how he starts off the season, but it wouldn't be surprising if some teams began to pick up the phone and talk to the Phillies about a potential deal if he were to show flashes of the old Ryan Howard. It also depends how much of his salary the Phillies would be willing to cover.
Amaro told Howard the team would be better off without him, so it's possible the former NL MVP is using that as motivation this offseason. There are a number of American League teams that could use him at the designated hitter spot, especially with a dearth of power in the MLB as a whole.
