Philadelphia Phillies: 3 players from 2021 failing miserably with new teams
By Tim Boyle
The 2021 Philadelphia Phillies season is remembered most for what, Bryce Harper winning the MVP on an average team? It was a flawed team but one that stayed heavily intact for the following year.
The 2022 Phillies have their own problems but they do look superior to what was on the field last year. Although there are plenty of holdovers from last season, some players did leave the club for new organizations. Unfortunately, the change of scenery hasn’t done them much good.
In 2022, these three members of the 2021 Phillies are failing miserably with their current teams.
1) Former Phillies pitcher Spencer Howard is failing miserably in 2022
Spencer Howard didn’t make it to the end of the 2021 season in Philadelphia. He was packaged in the trade for Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy to the Texas Rangers.
At the time of the trade, Howard was 1-4 with a 5.81 ERA as a member of the Phillies spanning his six starts in 2020 up through his additional appearances in 2021. Almost as soon as he arrived in Texas, things got worse. He made 8 starts for the 2021 Rangers and had a 9.70 ERA.
Things haven’t gotten any better for him in 2022. As a major leaguer this year, Howard is 0-1 with a 10.97 ERA in 10.2 innings of work. While he has had continued success at the Triple-A level, Howard is trending toward becoming a middle reliever. With some solid strikeout numbers, maybe the transition can eventually work.
There is little doubt that the Phillies were wise to move on from Howard. Even if Gibson has his ups and downs and Kennedy was far from the answer the bullpen needed last year, it doesn’t look like they lost much by giving up this once prized prospect.