Are the Phillies really considering trading Howard for Pujols?
by Scott Butler 3/15/10

I feel a bit embarrassed to comment on ridiculous reports, but the Howard for Pujols trade rumors are too big to ignore and too intriguing to consider. Buster Olney of ESPN is floating out a report that the Phillies have been having internal discussion about a possible trade of Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols.

"Lies" is what Ruben Amaro said about it. "That's a lie. I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie."

I'm sure Buster didn't completely make this story up, but there is just NO WAY THIS IS A SERIOUS TRADE DISCUSSION. Here's probably what happened. A bunch of Phillies guys were sitting around the table and somebody asked, "Do you think we could get Albert Pujols if we traded Ryan Howard?" Then they had a "what if" discussion. Who knows, maybe Ruben Amaro even contacted the Cardinals about the idea.

But there is a big difference between throwing around an idea and actually getting a deal done.

It is weak, pathetic, unprofessional, etc. for Buster Olney to report on this. He knows there is nothing to this yet, but he wants to be the one who said it first and get people to read his page on the internet. I would expect nothing else from ESPN.

But it is not the craziest trade I've heard of. Pujols becomes a free agent after the 2011 season and he might be looking for an A-Rod type contract that the Cards may not be able to afford. Couple that with the fact that Howard grew up in St. Louis and you might have something.

But you don't get rid of a guy like Pujols for nothing. In addition to giving up Howard, the Phillies would have to part ways with another big piece of the puzzle. Don't forget that Howard is going to look for a historic contract of his own, so the Cards may not even be able to afford Howard. It's just too many obstacles for a deal like this to happen.

If you look at their career numbers, you can see why the Cards (and Phillies) would rather have Pujols. Below are both of their career numbers (home runs, RBI's, walks, and strikeout numbers are their average per season numbers). They have very similar HR and RBI totals, but Pujols' average is 55 points higher, his slugging is 42 points higher, and he averages 9 more walks and 110 less strikeouts. And that's no knock to Howard. Pujols is just that good.

	Avg.	OBS	HR	RBI	SLG	BB	SO
Howard	.279	.376	44	127	.586	81	173
Pujols	.334	.427	41	124	.628	90	63


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Are the Phillies really considering trading Howard for Pujols? by Scott Butler 3/15/10

Are the Phillies really considering trading Howard for Pujols?
by Scott Butler 3/15/10