A former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher will look to revitalize his career overseas in 2025 following another disappointing campaign.
Spencer Howard has agreed to a one-year deal with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as noted by Phillies Tailgate on X. Howard, 28, spent the 2024 season with the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians, pitching to a disastrous 6.21 ERA in nine games.
Spencer Howard signs with Golden Eagles in Japan after disappointing MLB results
The former Phillies top prospect was drafted by the team 45th overall in the 2017 MLB Draft and was seen as a potential top-of-the-line starter. He received the call to the major leagues in 2020 and in limited action gave up 16 runs in 24 1/3 innings of work for an ERA of 5.92. His arm strength and stamina were seen as big issues during his first season, which was affected by the pandemic.
Ranked as the team's No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, his second season in 2021 was even worse. Howard pitched in just 11 games before he was eventually traded to the Texas Rangers (along with Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner) in exchange for Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy and Hans Crouse. All in all, he posted a 1-4 record in Philadelphia with a 5.81 ERA in 17 games (13 starts) over the course of two seasons.
The change of scenery in Texas did not pay off for Howard as he had a 2-7 record to go along with a dismal 8.37 ERA in 21 games. He was later traded to the Yankees and has bounced around the league over the course of the last several seasons, struggling to find his footing with every stop at the major and minor league levels.
In joining the Golden Eagles, Howard will help replace former star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka who recently parted ways from the team after four seasons, according to Kyodo News.
The Golden Eagles have struggled over the last few seasons, as they last put together a winning season in 2021 when they posted a 66-62 record.
Howard joins a long list of former Phillies who have taken their talents overseas over the years, including Domonic Brown, Tommy Joseph, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr, and just recently Jake Cave and Cole Irvin just to name a few. Still just 28 years old, Howard has a chance to rebuild his value in Japan as a key member of the Golden Eagles if he shows flashes of the game that made him one of the top prospects in baseball just a few years ago.