Section 215
Fansided

Really, the Phillies are Best off Releasing Ryan Howard

By Tim Kelly

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Ruben Amaro has been steadfast this off-season in saying that the Phillies will not release Ryan Howard. While Amaro has admitted that the team would be ‘better off’ without Howard–which is sure to up his value–he seems to think that releasing Howard is an unrealistic idea. He is in the minority at this point.

Earlier this week, Ken Rosenthal made a case that the Phillies, who are willing to take on nearly all the money on Howard’s deal, should have interest in Howard. A league executive seemed more in the know on Howard.

"When I posed that question about Howard to an American League executive Sunday, he shot back, “What does he do well?” I replied, “Hit home runs” – Howard had 23 in 569 at-bats last season. To which the exec replied, “Still had a .380 SLG.”"

Rosenthal would go on to compare Howard to other players who had similar slugging percentages, such as David Wright and Jason Heyward, but left out that the only comparable stat between Howard and those players is slugging percentage. Both can still play the field, which Howard can’t. Both don’t strike out at the clip that Howard does. Both can still run the bases. Both are everyday players, which the 35 year-old Howard isn’t at this point.

I get it, Howard passed the test for some of the traditional stats. He still hit 23 homeruns and 95 RBIs. Regardless of those stats, there is a point where everything else you do is so bad that those stats are worth having on your team. Howard is at that point.

He can’t play the field anymore, as evidenced by his -14.5 WAR. He has had negative WARs defensively before. When he was in his prime offensively, he wasn’t posting negative offensive WARs. In 2014, Howard posted a -7.7 WAR. Advanced stats that telling can’t be ignored. Neither can Howard’s 29% strikeout percentage. That percentage isn’t the lowest of his career, but when he was hitting 40 plus homeruns, it was well worth dealing with. The 23 homeruns and 95 RBIs aren’t when he doesn’t otherwise get on base and bats .223.

Don’t believe me? Listen to how the Phillies are stuck trying to sell him on the trade-market, and the lack of interest in their pitch.

If the Phillies are this desperate in trying to trade Howard, and it still isn’t working despite the fact that they are willing to eat virtually all of his salary, maybe it’s time they just cut their losses and release him. In fact, that may be the best scenario for everyone involved.

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Howard would get to start a fresh start somewhere else, and the move would open up more playing time for both Cody Asche and Maikel Franco, both of whom are believed by many to be pieces for the future.

The idea that the Phillies can’t just pay Howard to go play for another team is silly. By trading him for a token prospect, which is what they would get if some team was interested enough to take him on, and eating 95% of Howard’s salary, the Phillies would be effectively doing the same thing.

And stashing him on the bench wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone. It, rightfully, would upset Howard and further taint the legacy of the second-most prolific power-hitter in franchise history. And he would take up a roster spot and at-bats from some younger players that you hope can be keys to your franchise’s turnaround.

Is releasing Howard ideal? No, but neither is the situation that the Phillies front-office got themselves into by extending Howard a year and a half before he was eligible to hit free-agency. Nothing is ideal with the Phillies now. But the best-case scenario, would be to move forward from Howard, because things aren’t going to get any prettier with him–on or off the field.

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