By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It appears that the final piece (pun intended) of Ryan Howard's career has fallen into place.
The Atlanta Braves organization announced Monday evening that former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been released from his minor league deal:
The #Braves have released 1B Ryan Howard from his minor-league contract.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 8, 2017
This past week appeared to be a crucial stretch for Howard, as the Braves will play their first of seven games in American League parks this month tomorrow when they open up a series in Houston. Howard presumably could have been called up from Triple-A to serve as the team's DH, but his .184 average in 42 at-bats evidently proved to the Braves that he isn't worth giving a major league roster spot to at this point in his career.
The 37-year-old didn't draw much interest in free-agency this offseason, so this is likely it for the Phillies single-season home run record holder.
If it is it, it's a little disappointing to see Howard fall just 18 home runs shy of 400, but he accomplished nearly everything that one could hope to do in a career. He won the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year. He won the 2006 National League MVP. He was one of the core pieces to the Phillies 2007-2011 run of National League dominance, in which they secured the franchise's second World Series title in 2008. Oh, and he made nearly $200 million in his career, making him the highest paid player in Phillies history.
