PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard will be putting on a Phillies uniform for the first time since 2016 when he drops into camp this spring in Clearwater, Fla., as a guest instructor.
The team announced on Friday six guest instructors for Spring Training, which opens on Feb. 12, when pitchers and catchers hold their first official workout. Howard, Brad Lidge, Larry Bowa, Charlie Manuel, Pete Mackanin and Dan Plesac will each be in uniform at various times this spring.
It will be Howard’s first time in camp as a guest instructor. It will be Lidge’s fifth. Howard played first base and Lidge was the closer on the Phillies’ 2008 World Series championship team.
Bowa, Manuel and Mackanin have all played for and/or managed the Phillies, and each works as an advisor to general manager Matt Klentak. Plesac, meanwhile, pitched 18 seasons in the big leagues, including his final two for the Phils in 2002-03. An 11-year veteran analyst at MLB Network, this will be Plesac's fourth stint as a guest instructor.