The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly shopping Ryan Howard and could be looking to move the franchise first baseman prior to Thursday's MLB non-waiver trade deadline.
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CBS Sports reports that the Phillies are looking for suitors in the American League that would take on Howard and put him in a designated hitter role.
Howard's trade value is said to be limited and Philadelphia is reportedly willing to eat most of his $70 million he is owed. There were reports earlier this week that Philadelphia had considered just outright cutting Howard after the season, which could also pose a problem as far as his trade value is concerned.
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The Phillies will look for a team to take a small hit on the salary of Howard, who is due $70 million through 2016 with a $10 million buyout for 2017. Howard is hitting a sub-par .224/.305/.377 with a .682 OPS thus far this season with 15 homers and 60 RBI.
Howard, 34, is injury prone and has started to decline with age, which is a bad combination for the Phillies if they want to move him.
Philadelphia enters the weekend with a 44-58 mark, and sits 12.5 games behind the division-leading Washington Nationals and 11 games out of wild-card contention.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has been stubborn about re-building the franchise, but with the team undergoing its second straight losing season and likely missing the playoffs a third straight year, Amaro will likely be very busy come the trade deadline.
Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Marlon Byrd have all been linked to trade rumors, and it is likely that one or all of them will be moved.
While Howard has little value to most teams, CBS Sports reports that two AL GMs have said that Howard would be worth a $5 million per year to any team looking to make him a designated hitter.
Howard was benched for the second straight game on Thursday by manager Ryne Sandberg and told reporters to "ask the manager" why he wasn't being played. Howard's time in Philadelphia has appeared to sour, and it could very well lead him out of the "City of Brotherly Love" by next week.
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