The Philadelphia Phillies are telling anybody who will listen that Ryan Howard is available. However, given the first baseman's massive contract and poor performance, offloading him will be much easier said than done.
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Tuesday, Nov. 11
Royals Not Interested in Howard
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported on Kansas City's interest in Ryan Howard:
The Royals showed basically no interest in trading for eminently availablePhillies slugger Ryan Howard, though his name definitely did come up in talks between the teams.
The Royals simply responded to Philly's inquiry by saying, "We're concentrating on pitching."
It was a polite and honest way to change subjects.
Not only do the Royals have next to no interest in Howard at the moment, he doesn't especially fit them. Kansas City has a first baseman they love in Eric Hosmer, and while they currently don't have a DH since declining Billy Butler's $11-million option, they envision a possible scenario where they get away from the DH model altogether.
Monday, Nov. 10
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that an unlikely suitor has emerged: the Kansas City Royals:
The Royals aren't about to rip up their payroll, and David Glass suddenly isn't about to go all Steinbrenner on us, but if the Phillies are willing to eat most of the contract, the Royals have had internal discussions about acquiring him.
They believe he just might be the perfect fit to replace Billy Butler as their everyday DH, and considering they didn't have a single player hit 20 homers or drive in 75 runs last year, he may be the power threat the Royals need to return to the World Series.
Acquiring Howard would certainly fly in the face of the Royals' strategy of investing in younger players who excel in the field and on the basepaths. Howard's style is almost anathema to everything Kansas City did right in reaching the World Series.
With that said, the Royals were the only team to hit fewer than 100 home runs as a team last year, so there's a clear power void. Kansas City needs to add a bat this offseason. In addition, a move to the American League would suit Howard because he wouldn't have to play any defense as a designated hitter.
However, a few major red flags arise when debating any potential trade.
One is that Howard's power has been in decline for the last four or five years and hit rock bottom in 2014. Although he hit 23 home runs and drove in 95 runs, his .380 slugging percentage was the worst of his career.
Dan Szymborski of ESPN.com tried to distill the spectrum of the 34-year-old's talent:
The other concern is Howard's contract. He's due $50 million over the next two years and has a $10 million buyout in 2017.
While the Phillies will eat some money in order to move Howard, whatever team trades for him will likely still be overpaying for an aging first baseman who's long since passed his prime.
It's still very early in the offseason, so there's no telling where Howard could end up. Just because the Royals are potentially throwing their name in the hat doesn't mean they're giving it serious consideration.
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