Ryan Howard tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that a productive second half in 2016 — Howard batted .262/.324/.608 in his last 140 plate appearances — convinced him that he still has “a lot left in the tank.” Howard is working out and waiting in hopes of receiving an offer for the upcoming season, Rosenthal writes. The longtime Phillies cornerstone is open to signing in the American League and serving as a designated hitter, and he’s realistic and understanding of the fact that he isn’t likely to be given an everyday role. Howard is one of many left-handed sluggers on the free-agent market — Brandon Moss, Pedro Alvarez, Adam Lind and Justin Morneau are all also available, for instance — but a strong finish and 24 home runs against right-handed pitching (in 327 plate appearances) could get him a look as a part-time DH or a bench bat in 2017.
Here are a few more late-night notes from around the game…
- The Marlins’ acquisition of right-hander Severino Gonzalez filled the team’s 40-man roster, making further guaranteed contracts unrealistic, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. The Marlins could still add some players on minor league deals, but with a full 40-man roster and a payroll that is at its limit (roughly $110MM), additional spending is a long shot. Miami was recently connected to both Chris Carter and Mark Reynolds, but Frisaro calls the chances of signing either “extremely remote.” The Fish do have interest in Jeff Francoeur, but he’d have to be willing to sign a minor league contract in order to return to Miami. That could ultimately happen, but Francoeur does have interest elsewhere, as the Braves are said to be in on him as well.
- Sticking with the Marlins, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears that it was the agents for Carter and Reynolds who reached out to the Marlins recently, and not vice versa. That would certainly make sense, as Miami could look like an appealing landing spot, on paper, for either slugger. Jackson writes that the Marlins are considering a 13-man pitching staff and a four-man bench, making the addition of even a modestly priced right-handed bat like Carter or Reynolds unlikely. There’s still some interest in Francoeur and Chris Johnson, he notes.
- Fangraphs’ David Laurila spoke with Rockies GM Jeff Bridich about a number of topics, interestingly touching on what lessons that Major League front offices can learn from the front offices of teams in other sports. Laurila notes that Bridich is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan, and the two discussed Green Bay’s ability to build through the draft as well as the Atlanta Falcons’ turnaround from a sub-.500 club to a Super Bowl participant. Bridich also spoke about the Rockies’ focus on youth and athleticism as well as their growing analytics department. “We’ve worked in leaps and bounds to do that, but it’s probably unfair to say we’ve brought our analytics process up to par with our scouting process,” said Bridich. “…in terms of the human capital, in terms of the financial capital, and the time spent in the growth of the analytics over the last year, year and a half… it’s real. We’re starting to really see some movement there.”
- Rays general manager Erik Neander tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that newly acquired right-hander Jose De Leon is very close to making a “significant impact” on the team, though Topkin writes that De Leon could open the year in Triple-A. De Leon’s shoulder has been a source of concern for some, but the right-hander denies that there’s any cause for concern and said his arm is healthy. “I’m on a mission,” De Leon tells Topkin. “I was a low draft pick, nobody knew about me, nobody believed in me, so I’m on a mission to fulfill my dreams. Getting to the big leagues is just the beginning.”
- Topkin also notes at the end of that column that the Rays are “possibly” considering free-agent catcher Matt Wieters in their search for a bat. While that may seem like a curious fit at first glance, offseason signee Wilson Ramos will be out early in the season as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn ACL. Even when Ramos is healthy enough to take the field, it’s all but certain that the Rays will want to be cautious at first once he’s activated. Wieters could catch regularly for a good portion of the season and eventually be part of a catcher/DH timeshare with Ramos, in theory.
The Wieters thing is actually a good idea for the Rays. If all goes well at the trade deadline (as far as the two catchers) they can trade Wieters for a low prospect. If things don’t go well they won’t have to scramble for a new catcher later.
As usual, no idea what the Marlins are doing.
Weiters considering the Rays, then he has no market. That team doesn’t pay and with Boras? You just know he was pulling that same line he tried with Varitek several years back when he was finished about how his intangibles and glove alone was worth millions, then ‘Tek signed for like 2/5m and had to practically beg for that.
Rays? Weiters isn’t going to get but perhaps 25% of that 16m he made last year and that’s after Boras got laughed at and phone slammed on by most every other GM he approached regarding the intangibles theory being worth.. Perhaps 10-12m per.
Remember when Howard was a subway spokesman? They’ve had some questionable endorsements
Yeah well Jared gets to try out many different footlongs where he’s at now…creep
Ahahahaha!!!!
lol Jared loves his fresh meat
Whatever he’s having, you can guarantee it ain’t a happy meal.
Lol. How Jared from subway is a conversation on an MLB trade rumors website is beyond me.
Lmao @ this whole conversation
to be honest every comment section should be the roast of jared from subway that guy is trash
LOL genius
Ha ha ha ha
Howard was very good back then. Especially coming off of a World Series. Seems reasonable to have someone from that team be a marketing tool for Subway.
Howard was a fine spokesman and will fill a nice role in an al team next year
Jarvis Jones.
Before he ever played a snap, Subway signed Jarvis Jones, the worst linebacker in Pittsburgh Steelers history.
Wasn’t Brady Quinn a spokesman for them, too?
Wieters to Rays isn’t a bad idea, but how can they pay him? The Rays biggest contract other than Longoria is the $5M owed to Rasmus. Boras would probably ask for weekly opt-outs.
They just shed Forsythe’s $7MM salary, which is a start. They’re also projected to be about $14MM shy of their Opening Day Payroll mark from 2014:
rosterresource.com/mlb-tampa-bay-rays-info/
If Wieters gets to the point where he’s looking at a one-year deal, then I’d imagine they’d be able to find some kind of common ground.
Thanks for the response. One year deal would minimize risk to them, although he still seems like a health and performance crap-shoot
remember when Howard was on the office
Still waiting for that Big Piece movie
Cant believe the Jays are going to go with Smoak at first versus giving Howard or Morneau a shot. Jeez
Howard will be forced to accept a non-roster invitee contract to spring and maybe the Blue Jays will get him. It seems fairly logical
Mourneau maybe, Howard no. Either way team speed is in the toilet. Getting a slower player in replace of Smoak (as much as I hate him) isn’t an upgrade.
Jays have Tellez in the pipe. If all goes well he rakes in Spring and makes the club out of camp. Worse case Rowdy starts in triple A and has a chance mid season for a call up.
Although his speed also rates below average.
The Rays should offer Howard a contract. I think he just wants a chance to play, and the $10 million he got from the Phillies in his buyout could make him cheap, Rays cheap. I’m a Phillies fan, but lived in Florida for 5 years and rooted for them. They always seem to need power, and they should be trying to contend this season with their current roster.
Howard destroyed right handed pitching last year. he would have a field day in the band boxes of the AL East.
He isn’t what he used to be, but he is still an above average power hitter who can hit righties. I also think he has something to prove.
I definitely agree, I would not be surprised to see him land there to start against righties. I haven’t looked into it, but would he be even remotely capable of manning first in a pinch? Or has his defense eroded to the point where he will purely be a DH?
He has very limited range at 1B….so DH would be the far better option. In a pinch could he play there…sure, but he’s going to cost the team some runs.
I’m a big Howard fan. He is not an above average hitter anymore. This is unless what he did at the end of last year was a big change in him. I thought he was just making sure he emptied the gas tank at the end of the year. He hit 190 for 2 seasons. Not above average. He can’t hit 95 mph. Idk what Howard can do anymore. I hope he can go somewhere and succeed though.
Teams definitely exploited his slowed bat, as they attacked him with high FBs and just kept elevating.
Please no. Howard isn’t worth a roster spot anymore. Also, the idea of carrying a platoon DH is crazy to me.
Jeff Francoeur is a great human being and a great teammate, but I can’t believe that the Marlins and Braves would fight over a guy with a 5:1 K to walk ratio who barely hits .250 anymore and has been slowed down on defense. He must be and even better veteran leader to the young guys than I realize.
Of course De Leon will start in AAA. The Rays are the kings of keeping guys in the minors to tack on extra years of control. If they were willing to do it to Longoria when he was clearly the best player on the team, let alone at 3B, coming out of ST, they’ll do it to anyone & everyone.