By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Ryan Howard homered for what will likely be the final time as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday afternoon, giving him 382 career home runs. Howard may reach his 400th home run before the end of his career, but in all likelihood it will come in another uniform.
It seems strange that Howard, who hit over 45 home runs every season from 2006 to 2009, will finish a mere 18 home runs away from 400 home runs with the Phillies. Heck, as bad as he's been at times in the last three years, he's averaged over 23 home runs per season, so had his contract run one more season with the team, he would have been very likely to have hit his 400th home run with the club.
Had Howard not torn his Achilles at the end of the 2011 NLDS, Howard easily would have hit over 400 home runs. He was limited to just a combined 151 games between 2012 and 2013, hitting 25 home runs total between the two seasons. Had he played full seasons between those two years and instead hit 35 home runs in each season, he would have 427 career home runs currently. It's also fair to wonder if Howard wouldn't have hit more home runs between 2014 and 2016 had his career never been changed by injuries, as he hit 71 home runs between those three years. If he had remained healthier, Howard may be knocking on the door of 450 or even 500 home runs, rather than 400.
The Phillies will decline Howard's 23 million option for 2017 soon, instead electing to take a $10 million buyout for the 2017 season and finally completing their transition away from the 2008 core. If he finds a team to play a full 2017 season with, he seems likely to hit his 400th home run. That said, him finding a team that he both makes out of Spring Training and lasts a full season with in 2017 may be too much to ask.
