Will Howard be back with Phillies for 2015?

WILL HE stay or will he go?

Ryan Howard celebrated a birthday yesterday, joining Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Marlon Byrd as Phillies regulars who are 35 years old or older.

But Howard, despite being the youngest of that group and due to his massive contract and declining health and production in the last 3 years, is the face of a Phillies franchise in decline. Howard was benched briefly in July, when reports surfaced that the front office was ready to move on from the 2006 National League MVP.

While a front office that's finally embraced a rebuilding mode could move anyone on this roster, Howard remains the most likely to go among the Phillies' core of former All-Star players. Yes, Howard is still owed $60 million, but the team's brass is willing to eat dollars (they have to pay him regardless) in an effort to improve on the field for 2015 and beyond.

And unlike just about any other position on the diamond, the Phillies have younger, viable options to take over. Both Darin Ruf and Maikel Franco have experience at first base.

If the Phillies are truly committed to rebuilding - and seeing if the younger players on their roster can be pieces for the future - then they're going to have to move some veterans to make room. In Howard's case, it might not be any different than when Pat Gillick shipped Bobby Abreu to the Yankees in 2006: trading away a player while receiving little-to-nothing in return, but opening up a spot for a younger, developing player with upside.

"I think that's the goal," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said of creating opportunities last week at the General Managers meetings in Phoenix. "I don't know if we have to [trade others] to do it, but it would help us as we assess where we want to go in the future, and that's why some of our goals are to try to give those guys opportunities to do that by trading certain guys. Do we have to do it? I don't think we have to. But I think it would be beneficial to the organization to give those young players opportunities so we can make those assessments."

On the final day of the 2014 season, Howard casually packed some things away from his locker stall inside the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park. He didn't look like a player ready to clear it out entirely.

He was caught off guard when asked if he thought he'd be in a Phillies uniform when the team reconvenes in February in Clearwater, Fla.

"Apparently that's the hot topic," Howard said on Sept. 28, after answering the same query from another reporter earlier in the day. "My main thing is after today, I'm not going to worry about anything baseball-related for a while. If I'm here next year, I'm here. If I'm not, I'm not. I can't control that stuff. That's not a question for me."

What if it was?

"Do I want to go somewhere else? No. I don't want to," Howard said. "I'm not looking to go anywhere else. But that's the business aspect of it. So, the only thing I can do is go in, enjoy my offseason and prepare for next season."

As detailed in court documents obtained by the Daily News, Howard has had other, non-baseball-related business to tend to in the last 2-plus years. In addition to dealing with injuries that have sapped his productivity as a player, Howard has endured a lengthy legal dispute with his family concerning his career earnings.

Coupled with the stress that likely comes from no longer being an MVP-caliber player, despite the public demand and salary that suggest he should be that player, Howard's sad family drama might make him consider buying real estate on a deserted island to get away from it all. But, given his ever-present upbeat attitude, perhaps that's not the case.

Regardless of what he has had to handle both on and off the field in the last 3 years, Howard has acted like a professional, no different than in the past. He hasn't ducked away from questions, or the criticism that comes with being one of the highest-paid players in baseball and underperforming.

But while leaving Citizens Bank Park 7 weeks ago, Howard probably had to wonder if he'd be back for 2015, adding another layer to an escalating anxiety level.

When asked about his first baseman last week, Amaro only said that Howard was going through his normal offseason routine to prepare for the 2015 season. Amaro spoke to Howard when the 2014 season ended, but didn't elaborate on the conversation.

"It was pretty good, it was pretty straightforward," Amaro said. "We talked to him about what our direction is going to be. And that's really all I want to say about that."

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese