Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is expected to be back this season after undergoing surgery Wednesday for a debridement of his left medial meniscus. According to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., Howard's knee was in better shape than expected, which could change the team's outlook.
"After [Phillies physician Michael] Ciccotti went in there and went in with the scope, it was a little better picture than we thought," Amaro said. "I think the player is feeling better about it, we're feeling better about it. As news goes, this is as good as we can get."
The Phillies have yet to decide whether they will be sellers at the trade deadline, and the fact that Howard could return earlier than initially expected might change their plans. His official timeline is six to eight weeks.
"There's a reasonable chance we'll have him back at some point. We still have a lot of question marks about where we're going to go in the next couple of weeks," Amaro said. "Right now, the team is making decisions a little harder on me, which is fine and which is good. I'd rather be in this situation than thinking about 2014 right now."
Howard was hitting .266 with a .784 OPS prior to his injury.