No Surprise As Philadelphia Phillies’ Ryan Howard Lands on Disabled List


Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Howard has been struggling for the Philadelphia Phillies all season. He has not been putting up the numbers that had been up in seasons in the past. It has brought up concern.

Howard has been struggling with knee problems all season. He figured he would be able to endure the pain. He had a cortisone shot last week to try to weaken the pain, but it does not seem to have worked. It looks like the pain is now too much to handle. It was announced yesterday that Howard is going on the 15-day disabled list with knee inflammation and will have an MRI his upcoming week to see if there is more serious damage.

In Friday’s game, Howard hit a fielder’s choice and was limping toward to the base. He had also hit his 11th home run of the season and had a hard time making it around the bases. Howard is hitting .266 at this point in the season. He has 95 strikeouts, which puts him first on the Phillies with the most strikeouts and 11th in the major leagues.

Hopefully this is not a serious injury. Howard signed a five-year $125 million dollar contract back in 2010. Paying him that kind of money, the Phillies need him to produce the numbers and home runs he used to. When Howard comes back, he needs to show the Phillies they didn’t waste money on him.

While Howard is on the DL, they have called up first baseman Darin Ruf from Triple-A in Lehigh Valley. In Lehigh Valley this season, Ruf is hitting .266. He has 10 RBIs and three home runs. He will be trying to show he can make it in the big leagues.

Although Howard hasn’t been hitting like we are used to, he has been producing RBIs. The Phillies will miss his presence. Hopefully he will be back in 15 days and not later.


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