FanPost

Trade Idea: Ryan Howard!

I was thinking about some trade ideas today and  Ryan Howard came to mind. The Phillies have an abundance of Major League youngsters who are arb eligible(10 in all). A good PROBLEM to have.

Ryan Howard won in arbitration last year and got a whopping 10 Million dollar award. Jayson Starks reports he may ask for 15+ this year. I think he may come close to getting it. This says he is still eligible for 2 more years after this one

All said the Phillies have never had a bigger payroll than 103 million from what I see. Will they sign all players,address other needs, and raise payroll that high?? I've read rumblings of the Phillies exploring trades for their big slugging 1st baseman  in the past.

With all that being said what would it take to get Howard? What about a Lee, Marshall, and a couple prospects for him? Lee would cost them 2yr/26 million, the others would be relatively cheap for them. They would be getting salary relief and a gold glove caliber 1b that hits for descent avg for 2 yrs. I think they could handle the loss of power with that lineup they have. They would surely gain avg and defense with Lee over Howard.

It would all hinge on Lee waiving his no trade clause and thats anyone's guess if he would or wouldnt.

We would get a monster lefty in the middle of our lineup all the while getting younger. Can you imagine Bradley,Ramirez,Howard in the middle of a lineup that also contains Soriano and Soto? WOW!! Just the thought of it gives me chills.

The move this year would only cost us about 2-3 million more if he got what he wanted in arbitration.

This might be a crazy idea but I think its at least a little feasible given the Phillies abundance of young mlb arbitration cases that will seemingly haunt them for years to come.

Thoughts,Reaction, Other Ideas???

FanPosts are written by readers of Bleed Cubbie Blue, and as such do not reflect the views of SB Nation or Vox Media, nor is the content endorsed by SB Nation, Vox Media or Al Yellon, managing editor of Bleed Cubbie Blue or reviewed prior to posting.