The Philadelphia Phillies' overhaul has been slow-moving, largely because they are not willing to settle for less than they had hoped for regarding certain veteran trade chips. Ace left-hander Cole Hamels is their biggest asset on the trade market, but multiple sources have reported their asking price is sky high.
They also have Ryan Howard. He is an expensive, strikeout-prone first baseman with three years and more than $70 million remaining on his contract . His batting average has been less than .225 in two of the last three seasons, and he has struck out 29 percent or more of his at-bats for three consecutive seasons. He has also been a liability defensively in every season since 2005.
That said, Howard also has an increasingly rare skill that is becoming more valuable in today's offensively starved landscape-pure power. Howard can crank home runs anywhere, regardless of the park, and that may make him attractive to teams that fancy themselves as contenders, and especially American League clubs that see a quality DH.
Howard remained healthy last season and rewarded the Phillies with 23 home runs. It is far from his prime when he was a threat for 50-plus, but still a good number. He is also historically far better vs. right-handed pitching; that didn't hold true in 2014, but if deployed as an AL, platoon DH Howard may be able to do damage.
His money would be a detriment, but rumor now has it the Phillies are willing to eat $50 million of his remaining money if they can get a better return on prospects. He's also shown upside this spring, and manager Ryne Sandberg believes adjustments to his stance and swing will result in better numbers.
"I think he's found something he's comfortable with," Sandberg said, "and he's getting results."
Howard indicated he is over the Achilles injury he sustained in 2011 that has seemed to haunt him since.
"When your legs are finally strong, you can go back to the routines and workouts and baseball activity-type stuff that you were doing before," Howard said. "I'm just taking it one day at a time right now, but I'm here, and I'm prepared. So let's see what happens."
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