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So im a Phillies fan and the front office goofed on this one by trying to set this guys arbitration numbers just a little to low. I think we could have won that case if we offered 8 million instead of 7, but ohh well.
Here is my question though, Howard isn't eligable for free agency until 2011 and will be 32 at that time. I no longer really want to sign him to a long term deal because he wants A-Rod money from what i understand and his defense isn't half of A-rod and isn't exactly getting steals either. Im thinking either this offseason or next we use him as trade bait while he is in his prime. Im curious what others think?? The Phillies Farm system is also reall thin and anyone at 1b can hit 30+ homers at Citizens Bank Ballpark in my opinion. So sign him or trade him?
You only trade him if you get really value in return. Prospects are a dime a dozen if you have coin. But I wouldn't put the idea out of mind. Frankly his value will likely never exceed what it is at this very moment.
I think the Phillies would do well to shop him around over the next 2 seasons. His value is going to be especially high to an American League team who could slide him into the DH spot if need be. His numbers are solid even though his average dropped significantly last year. If he were in the right situation he could put up similar numbers to David Ortiz for years to come. I just hope he doesn't go to NY. Their new park will have the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium so he would tear up that short porch. I can actually see them going after him since Giambi is obviously not going to be around too much longer. I just don't know that they'd have the young talent Philly would be interested in.
The Phillies were probably a little low but they based their offer inpart on Howard setting the all time strike-out record for a season. Mike Schmidt had the same problem early in his career.
Baldspot wrote:The Phillies were probably a little low but they based their offer inpart on Howard setting the all time strike-out record for a season. Mike Schmidt had the same problem early in his career.
The strikeout numbers scare me a bit although I really don't see him falling into the Adam Dunn type of category. Howard obviously has tremendous upside and his powere is phenomenal. Many forget that he's already 28 years old because he's only played 3 full seasons. If he were a 23-25 year old I might think his strikeouts would go down significantly with maturity; at 28 he may be set in his ways a bit. He should be entering his prime over the next 3-4 seasons so time will tell.
- By LU Armchair coach