The Odubel Herrera issue continues for the Phillies

On Mar. 30, Philadelphia Phillies president David Dombrowski explained his team’s most sticky spring decision, deciding who would play center field among three remaining contenders. Those outfielders were Roman Quinn, Adam Haseley, and Odubel Herrera.

Herrera was the starting centerfielder for the Phillies from 2015 through May of ’19, when he was suspended for grabbing his girlfriend by the neck (and of course, being caught doing that). The talented Venezuelan is also famous for saving a Cole Hamels no-hitter in ’15 by making a stumbling circus catch in Wrigley Field for the final out, and in the past, his gold-tipped dreadlocks.

The Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera continues to be a sticky problem for them.

Herrera’s catch seems so long ago now. It occurred at a time when the Phillies expected him to contribute greatly, moving forward, to at least a winning season here or there. Herrera was an All-Star in ’16, and no one really seemed to notice that his batting average had slipped from his rookie year by 11 points. (His slugging and OPS figures were better.)

That BA drop, however, was an early step down in Herrera’s overall performance that went on for the next three years. By ’19, the year of his very bad domestic impulse, he was hitting .222 and his OPS counter stopped at .629. The previous season he had hit .255 with a .730 OPS.

Between his suspension and the Phillies decision to leave him at the alternate training site for the first COVID season, Herrera came to camp this year with only about 50 spring training at bats spread out over two seasons. Dombrowski pointed this out Tuesday. That Herrera was the odd man out had been announced the day before.

The team’s new president said he felt the fading star, who is still under contract through 2023, would be better served by getting consistent at bats in minor league competition.

However, it must also be pointed out that both Quinn and Haseley arguably outplayed Herrera, despite the facts that Herrera homered four times this spring and that Haseley’s spring action was limited by injury.

The fact of the matter is that Herrera’s spring mirrored his stalled career – it involved a fast start followed by a tail-off. It’s hard to tell if this was a matter of a slipping focus on Herrera’s part, more MLB-pitcher innings toward the end of spring training, or another factor.

When asked about Herrera’s relegation to the minors on The Bern with Mitch radio show the same day Dombrowski addressed the press, I said the more interesting question might be whether or not Phillies fans will see Herrera at all in Philadelphia this season.

Haseley and Quinn will platoon in center, but no one can say how this will turn out. Haseley may not progress in his young career, and the fragile Quinn might well tear a hamstring walking to the kitchen later today.

And Herrera is less than attractive trade bait. A .231 spring training average, including 11 strikeouts in 63 plate appearances, doesn’t exactly sell an outfielder under contract for three more years at over $34 million.

The team buyout clauses for ’22 and ’23 might move him to a team desperate for a somewhat proven MLB outfielder, but that seems unlikely to happen before the trade deadline. The buyout for ’22 is $2.5 million.

It’s literally impossible to say what will happen in center field for the Phillies this summer, but the odds of Odubel Herrera coming to bat in Citizens Bank Park for them seem about 60-40. It could occur.