The Philadelphia Phillies made it no secret that they were attempting to offload Marlon Byrd via trade during the recent MLB winter meetings. However, in trade talks with the Baltimore Orioles, it appears they also attempted to slip another large contract into a prospective deal as well.
Per Bill Baer of NBC's Hardball Talk, "MASN’s Roch Kubatko notes that when the Phillies discussed a potential Byrd trade with the Orioles, they tried to attach Howard in the deal as well."
Howard struggled mightily in 2014, and is still owed in the neighborhood of $60 million through 2016. In order for the Phillies to trade him, they will likely have to eat a significant portion of his remaining guarantee.
Byrd, 37, is under contract for just the 2015 season at $8 million, but he has a 2016 option that can become guaranteed at the same price tag if he amasses 550 plate appearances in 2015.
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