Since arriving in Arlington following his trade from Philadelphia, Spencer Howard has been pretty open about what went wrong during his time with the Phillies. The former Phillies No. 1 pitching prospect had a 5.81 ERA in 52 2/3 innings in Philadelphia. His struggles early on were a big reason why the Phillies were willing to part ways with him at the deadline.
Perhaps the biggest reason why the Phillies dealt Howard is because the team and player’s time horizons did not match up.