Phillies trade rumors: Ryan Howard? Really?

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsThere is a report that Ryan Howard’s name has come up in trade talks with the Phillies this year.

For years, a vocal section of the Phillies fanbase has been desperate for the team to trade one of the greatest first basemen in franchise history, Ryan Howard.

We all know why. After ripping his Achilles into a million pieces at the end of Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, Howard has been a shell of what he used to be. In 508 games (1998 PAs) since that awful night, Howard has a slash line of .224/.290/.416, with an OPS of .706, averaging 17 homers and 60 RBIs a season over that stretch.

The 2012 season was the one in which his five-year, $125 million extension kicked in,…