Phils told Ryan Howard what?!

"GM Ruben Amaro says he’s told first baseman Ryan Howard the Phillies feel the team would be better off if he were elsewhere, Matt Lombardo of NJ.com writes (via Mike Missanelli on 97.5 The Fanatic). “I told [Howard] that in our situation it would probably bode better for the organization not with him but without him,” says Amaro. “With that said, if he’s with us, then we’ll work around him. We’ll hope he puts up the kind of numbers that we hope he can and we’ll see where it goes from there.” Amaro notes that the Phillies are not willing to release Howard. A trade, obviously, will be tricky, given the $60MM remaining on Howard’s contract."

Wow, if you are Howard, where do you go from there?
If you are Amaro, why do you do this?

Well...the Padres are in a dealing mood!

Howard is awful, every team is better without him.

Howard would fit in nicely with New York Yankees. DH 220 avg 18 homeruns 65 RBIs fits perfectly.

kerryfan5 said:

Howard would fit in nicely with New York Yankees. DH 220 avg 18 homeruns 65 RBIs fits perfectly.

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Fit nicely as in over paid? Like Tex, A-Rod and CC

Yep my point exactly.

I wish someone would release Amaro.

AnthonyCorona said:

Howard is awful, every team is better without him.

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Howard was 4th in the NL with 95 rbi this season, and had 10 more rbi than any other Phillie. He also hit 23 homers playing gimped.

Sure he hits .220, can't field and strikes out 190 times, but he's not nearly as bad as everyone makes him out to be.

Austin said:

Howard was 4th in the NL with 95 rbi this season, and had 10 more rbi than any other Phillie. He also hit 23 homers playing gimped.

Sure he hits .220, can't field and strikes out 190 times, but he's not nearly as bad as everyone makes him out to be.

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So I get a 220 hitter who OBP is low. Owe him 60 million. Forgot can't play a position nor can he run. Sounds a lot like Rob Deer. Old school name drop.

MrMet said:

Amaro notes that the Phillies are not willing to release Howard. A trade, obviously, will be tricky, given the $60MM remaining on Howard’s contract."

Wow, if you are Howard, where do you go from there?

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great question

I mean, is Amaro hoping Howard will just quit or something? The yanks have been hoping that about Arod for a few years now.

Think the Marlins will feel that way anytime soon? These major contacts seem to not work well. Arod, CC, Zito, Howard, there's more obviously but those come to mind now

AnthonyCorona said:

Think the Marlins will feel that way anytime soon? These major contacts seem to not work well. Arod, CC, Zito, Howard, there's more obviously but those come to mind now

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Only ones I can think of being worth the deal is Manny and Jeter's 10 year deal.

I was going to suggest the Phillies platoon Howard because his career splits are so stark, but he actually hit better against left handed pitching for the first time last year.

It is awesome of the GM to say that about a guy he gave that money too. It's just saying I'm an idiot and don't know what I'm going.

Amaro joined the Phillies front office immediately after his playing career ended in 1998, hired by then Phillies general manager Ed Wade. He served as assistant GM for the Phillies for 10 seasons before being named general manager. His first seven were under Wade, followed by three seasons under Gillick.[5]

As assistant general manager, Amaro was involved in 40-man roster and major league free agent contract negotiations, including those players eligible for salary arbitration. He also assisted Gillick in the decision-making process of major league players and staff, including trades, player movements, and hirings.[6]

On November 1, 2008, the day after the Philadelphia Phillies second Broad Street Parade, it was confirmed that Amaro would be the new general manager as well as senior vice president of the Philadelphia Phillies.[7] Amaro signed a three-year contract.[6] Since the dawn of his regime, the organization has had a steady decline, finishing the year worse than the previous one. In July 2014, a "Stay Or Go" poll was conducted by Philly.com with over 10,000 fans involved, and 93.6% of voters wanted Amaro to go, meaning just 6.4% of fans wanted him to stay.[8]

If you are Howard, you are motivated to work out real hard in the off season, show up in Feb. in great shape, have a great year, and prove Amaro wrong.

If you are Amaro, you better hope an AL team really needs a DH and gives you a call about a possible trade for Howard. And be ready to eat a large portion of Howards remaining contract. Go Phillies!

maxe0213 said:

Only ones I can think of being worth the deal is Manny and Jeter's 10 year deal.

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I forgot about Mannys. Obviously u could have given a billion to Jeter and no one could question it hahahaha.

Alfonso Soriano had a woeful contract once. Don't remember the details, but I remember it was a head scratcher.

AmishDave said:

Alfonso Soriano had a woeful contract once. Don't remember the details, but I remember it was a head scratcher.

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Gil Meche, I think this could be an entire thread hahaha

AnthonyCorona said:

Gil Meche, I think this could be an entire thread hahaha

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Neagle, Hampton, Joe Mauer (even though Twins fans knew he'd never hit 25 or so HR's / season ever again).

AmishDave said:

Alfonso Soriano had a woeful contract once. Don't remember the details, but I remember it was a head scratcher.

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New York Yankees (1998–2003)
Soriano signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees in 1998


Texas Rangers (2004–2005)

In 2004, the Yankees traded Soriano to the Texas Rangers, along with minor leaguerJoaquin Árias for Alex Rodriguez and cash amounting to $67 million of the $179 million remaining on Rodríguez' contract.

Washington Nationals (2006)

On December 7, 2005, Soriano was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, and minor league pitcher Armando Galarraga On February 10, 2006, Soriano set a record for the highest salary ever awarded in arbitration, receiving $10 million, even though he lost his request of $12 million.[SUP][11][/SUP] The previous high had been set in 2001 by Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves when he earned $8.2 million. The Nationals offered Soriano a five-year, $50-million extension, but Soriano rejected the offer.[SUP][12][/SUP] Soriano and his agent Diego Bentz instead opted to open contract negotiations during the off-season, so that he would become a free agent.

Possible trade

The Nationals hoped to sign him to a long term deal before the season ended but on October 12, 2006 he rejected a $70M deal.
Chicago Cubs (2007–2013)

The Chicago Cubs signed Soriano to an eight-year contract worth nearly $136 million The contract marked the most expensive deal in the Cubs' franchise history and goes through 2014[SUP]][/SUP] It contains a no-trade clause, meaning Soriano cannot be traded without his consent.