It's something of a surprise that this hadn't already happened, as the 38-year-old hasn't played in the majors since 2016 and hasn't played at any level this year. The Phillies may have wished he retired after the 2011 season, as he posted a 93 wRC+ over the last five years of his career while making $125 million. The first baseman's steep decline and big contract shouldn't overshadow the success he had in the first half of his career, however, as he was a Rookie of the Year, MVP and World Series champion. He'll end his career with 1,475 hits and 382 homers, tied for 67th all time in the latter category.

After inking a minor-league deal with the Rockies' organization earlier in the day, Howard has already reported to Triple-A and will be in uniform Saturday. He'll need to show more at the dish than he did earlier in the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, when he slashed just .184/.238/.263, in order to get consideration for a promotion to the Rockies before the year is out.

The veteran slugger has been a free agent since he was released by the Braves in May. Howard slashed a mere .184/.238/.263 in 11 minor-league games in the Braves organization prior to his release and he hit just .196 in 112 games with the Phillies last season. He won't be on the 40-man roster to start, but if Howard starts getting back on track, there's a possibility of him joining the Rockies as a left-handed power bat off the bench in September.

Howard mustered just a .184 batting average and struck out 11 times in as many games for Triple-A Gwinnett. Even if Howard still has the power -- and he wasn't showing it this year, as he'd managed just one home run -- it's obvious that his bat is just too slow for him to be a productive major-league player at age 37.