The Phillies have agreed to a three-year deal with first baseman Ryan Howard worth $54 million. The agreement allowed the two parties to avoid what could have been an ugly arbitration hearing. Howard will earn $15 million this season, $19 million next year and $20 million in 2011. "The things that have happened prior with Ryan, it was really nothing adversarial, although I know with some people it was depicted that way," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We just agreed to disagree. It didn't make us love Ryan any less, and it didn't make Ryan love us any less." Howard can increase the base salary by $1 million in the last two years if he wins the MVP award during the previous year. He can boost it by $500,000 if he finishes second.