Phillies center fielder Odúbel Herrera has a mild strain in his right oblique, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer) this afternoon. He’s not expected to be ready for Opening Day, and Girardi suggested he could be sidelined for four-to-six weeks.
The Phils declined Herrera’s $11.5MM club option at the outset of the offseason, seemingly ending his seven-year run in the organization. Philadelphia circled back after the lockout, however, re-signing him on a $1.75MM pact. He entered camp as the favorite to reprise his role as the regular center fielder, but it seems the Phillies will need to look to alternatives in the early going.
Matt Vierling looks likely to get the first crack at the job, as Todd Zolecki of MLB.com wrote yesterday the 25-year-old would be the probable primary center fielder so long as Herrera was on the shelf. Vierling had a nice 34-game run to begin his big league career late last year, but his .248/.331/.359 line in 236 plate appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley casts some doubt on his ability to shoulder an everyday workload. Former top ten draftees Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak are alternatives on the 40-man roster, but Girardi said the Phils haven’t given any consideration to playing Moniak in center. Haseley can handle the position defensively, but he limped to a .224/.282/.295 performance with Lehigh Valley last season.
One option not under consideration is kicking Bryce Harper over from right field to center. The reigning NL MVP has some experience up the middle, but Girardi told reporters yesterday (via Zolecki) the organization didn’t want to jeopardize his health by handing him that kind of defensive burden. Harper will stick in right field, and Girardi said today he viewed Kyle Schwarber as his primary left fielder (via Jayson Stark of the Athletic). Fellow offseason signee Nick Castellanos will spend the bulk of his time at designated hitter, relieving Schwarber or Harper in the corner outfield as needed.
*Karma*
Did anyone expect this guy to come in ready?
The Phillies needed Kevin Pillar, but he was signed by the super team. They should take a look at Brett Gardner to get some playing time in center field. Also, he could reunite with Girardi and Didi in Philadelphia.
heck no on Mr. Roid Rage
Not a bad idea, but the Phillies already have a mascot
Brett Gardner is worse than the Phillies in-house options. Personal feelings about Herrera aside, talent wise he was a serviceable CF with a positive WAR and DRS.
…is a fallacy.
matty V szn babyyyy
Is Kingery healthy?
Not quite recovered from shoulder injury. Phils are taking it slower with him to try to keep pressure off of him to perform right away. They rather see him debut at full strength this season in AAA and get into a good routine before (hopefully!) he can be be re-added to the 40 man roster.
Looks like the Vierling/Herrera platoon will start out without Herrera.
See?
This is where GGBG lands.
please come in clutch Hase
Very curious to see how Hase does. I’m not expecting Kingery to bounceback, but stranger things have happened.
GARDY!!
Why do they treat Moniak as the worst #1 pick of all time. But then again he was a Klentak guy
Dude has shown doubles power in the minors so far and had a good amount of RBI in AAA last season. Moniak’s on-going issue is pitch selection. Not a lot of walks, too many K’s. I saw him play once in 2017. In those four at bats, he hit two blistering laser beams right up the middle and struck out swinging twice because he was throwing his ass out trying to hit out of the zone pitches. His stats say he’s still free swinging, but so long as his bat speed is still there, he’s got a chance to improve if he would just lay off the garbage they’re getting him out with. He’s 23 years old and maybe Kevin Long can work his magic on him. This season is his final season of options, so it’s pretty much make or break for Moniak this year. I hope he improves enough to stick to the 25 man roster in some productive form or another.
Nick in RF, Bryce in CF, and Kyle in LF! Put the ball in play boys!
Haha. As much fun as that sounds, Nick and Schwarbs will likely not be in the field at the same time that much if at all this season. Vierling is not a terrible option.
Let’s hope it turns into 35 weeks.
Kiermaier for Andrew Painter. Get it done Neander.
Kiermaier is a great defensive player. But with that salary and injury history, he is not worth Andrew Painter.
Painter stays…and he’d certainly bring a bigger return than KK alone.
Crouse maybe, but not Painter…
If they’re going to primarily DH Castellanos, I wish the Phils would’ve signed Conforto rather than bringing back Herrera.
Can’t wait to watch goofball overrun flyballs again.
Ah s*** here we go again.
Jim Salisbury just reported that there is credible buzz that Bohm may still be traded.
Hopefully for one of the A’s pitchers that are rumored to be one the move, plus Laureano. I think the Phils have enough to add with Bohm in a package, plus still keep their top prospects.
Don’t know that the A’s would trade both a Pitcher and Laureano for Bohm and Phillies prospects. Maybe one or the other. Plus the Phillies are already over the cap and those players are making decent salaries while Bohm isn’t.
However, the Pirates are willing to let Reynolds go to Miami – so they’re open to moving him to an NLE team How about they trade Hoskins to a team that needs hitting and wants to win now for 2-3 quality prospects? Add Bohm – or trade him for someone Cherington fancies – and move them all to the Pirates for Reynolds?
Pirates get their young haul. Phillies get a quality CF with 4 years of control and a reasonable salary for 2022. They can move Harper to 1B.
Long shot of course. Not easy to do. But I see DD making some moves to both get younger and bring the payroll down.
Rays looking for a run producing 1B. Strong farm system.
Hoskins under control for 2 years.
Rangers, Rockies, Twins, and Padres are doing screwy things. Hoskins can DH as well as try to play 1B.
Probably others. Wait a month or so into the season for injuries to occur.
Here we go again with the trade Hoskins for ‘prospects’. That has just worked out so well the past 20 years. Trade an established player and get some more great prospects of the likes of Phillippe Aumont, Ben Lively, Enyel De Los Santos, Tyson Gillies, Alec Asher, Darnell Sweeney, Jerad Eickhoff, Jake Thompson, Mark Appel……
Yes, I looked at the story on philliesnation.com
That defense in Philly is going to be something…even with everyone healthy, they have to be a bottom 3 defensive club going into the season. I feel bad for the Phillies’ pitchers. They can’t strikeout 27 per game. I wonder if the Phillies staff will lead the league in unearned runs this year. They are going to have to out-slug everyone.
I think all the people justifiably bashing the Phillies defense don’t realize that the defense was actually worse the last 2 years and Schawrbs is slightly better than Cutch defensively. Cutch was pretty terrible out there last year, and I absolutely love Cutch. Phillies defense is going to be a mess, but the two new additions aren’t really the reasons why.
“Stott was already told by GM, Dave Dombrowski through the media, that he is under consideration for the starting shortstop role for 2022. If the team doesn’t fill the position in free agency and Stott has a good Spring Training, the job should go to him considering Didi Gregorius isn’t much competition.”
–
Add in Maton that plays a decent MLB SS and a very good 2B, while Segura played a decent 2B last year but plays a very good 3B and something can happen there.
If bucketbrew35 is correct and Bohm is a trade candidate, expect that DD will want another middle infielder or a CF in return.
When everyone see the obvious it’s usually at a top……and it always goes the other way.
Segura is a well above average defensive second baseman. He can play 3b well, but second is his best position.
Mc Cutchen was almost unplayable in left field last year. Schwarber will be better defensively, and should be a good lead-off hitter.
The Phillies are a middling ballclub with a media created “superstar” who’s won nothing in his career, and a terrible defense.
Now, their starting CFer is out for 6 weeks and their fans are screaming, “No to Brett Gardner.” This is why Philadelphia is a 4th rate city lol
In what world is Brett Gardner better than their in-house options? I get that the Phillies farm system isn’t great, but Brett Gardner is the twilight of his career. The Phillies can turn to their system while Herrera is hurt for a few weeks. Keep in mind they were planning to platoon Herrera and Vierling anyway. The plan doesn’t change much. Your evaluation of Harper is also way off. Please look at his numbers. The media didn’t create those.
I’ve looked at Harper’s #s plenty of times. He’s a quality ballplayer, but certainly no Mike Trout. Plus, he’s the most hated player in MLB.
Philadelphia is probably never going to win a thing with Harper on the roster. Look at how the Nats got over the hump AFTER he left. Harper is a total media creation as a “star” player.
This tired old narrative. Nats would have been even better with Harper. They were a team that had a plethora of talent and didn’t need to splurge on Harper. They went on a phenomenal run and won the WS deservedly, but it wasn’t because Harper left. This post is just childish gossip. Harper is still friends with those dudes. Most hated nonsense.
Harper has done a 180 on his game since coming to the Phillies, and has conduced himself as a team leader.
I’d like to see him move to 1B where he could be more vocal and encouraging with the Pitcher(s), as well as be more involved on each pitch. Say what you will, but the mans Baseball IQ is very good. It could be put to use better in the infield.
Harper’s arm is too good to play first base…
Wrong.
A good arm at 1B – particularly a LH that throws across his body to 2B, 3B and Home Plate is an asset. On grounders to 1B with a runner going to 2B he can step forward and throw across his as opposed to a RH that has to step forward so as not to hit the runner on a throw and then pivot. Also can throw to 2B and 3B after getting a throw from an infielder to keep runner close as opposed to trying for an extra base.
1B is an underestimated defensive position, as many teams use a guy like Hoskins there that are primarily playing for their bat. Harper @ 1B would improve that team a lot. As Branch Rickey pointed out – the 1B touches the ball more than any player on a team other then the P and C. He learned that a good defensive 1B was a big asset. Always had them – from George Sisler to Jackie Robinson to Gil Hodges and his Dodgers continued it with Wes Parker, Ron Fairly, Steve Garvery and later James Loney.
Harper throws right-handed, bats left-handed…
And Steve Garvey played first because, despite his large forearms, his throwing was weak…
Harper for 1B
*3B rather, got confused
@ positively_broad_st;
Jeeze – I’ve been watching the guy for years and for some reason thought he threw RH. Has a rocket arm.
Nice handle. In the mid-80;s in Santa Monica someone opened up a little nick knack shop on 4th Street just north of Wilshire (the outdoor mall before there was an indoor mall). Named it ‘Positively 4th Street’.
It might still be there.
@ positively_broad_st;
Steve Garvey was moved to 1B when he was in the Dodger farm system with Ron Cey. They were about the same age and both were 3B’s. One had to move to 1B. It was decided that Cey was the better 3B. Don’t know that Garvey’s forearms entered into the decision – never read or heard anything about that. Did hear Vinnie speak about it a few times.
P.S. I’d still play Harper @ 1B.
Samuel,
‘Positively 4th Street’ is a Bob Dylan song. It’s probably where the restaurant took its name from. I replaced 4th Street with Broad Street as a nod to Philly’s renowned Broad Street.
As a 3B, early in his career, Garvey infamously could not make the throws across the diamond. He was all over the place. Too wide, too far, too short – anywhere but to the first baseman’s mitt. He nearly got traded because of it, but they benched him for three months instead. Ultimately the Dodgers moved Buckner to LF so Garvey could be in the lineup because Garvey could hit, hit, hit. He rarely walked nor struck out, couldn’t run very fast, had limited range, and never did figure out the throwing issues. He was regarded as a great first baseman because he made very few errors, providing him with an extremely high fielding percentage. To Garvey’s credit, he could absolutely pick it, had good hands. Problem was limited range, and a bigger problem was that Garvey was a ball-holder. He wouldn’t even try to turn those double plays the way other first basemen would. Garvey is 15th in games played at 1B, but 50th in assists. Comparatively, Keith Hernandez is 19th in GP at the position, but top ten in assists. Garvey was basically like the third baseman in the movie ‘Major League.’ He had a great image and he wasn’t about to risk that image by exposing his biggest weakness – the yips.
Would it bother me if Garvey got into the HOF? As a hitter, no, but his reputation as a great defender at 1B is bogus. Dudes would blatantly run on Garvey because they knew that he would likely just eat it.
As far as Harper in the infield, I’d risk him at 3rd base before 1B. He’s played one game at first in his career. In high school/college Harper played mostly catcher, pitched some, and also spent time at SS. His aggressive style of play is more suited to 3B to 1B, and he has a powerful arm. He’s has registered 95+ mph on some of his OF assists. It’s way too early in Bryce’s career to put him at 1B. Maybe in his last 3-5 years of his career he could get some or all his games at first, but at this stage, it’d be a waste of one of his big assets – his powerful arm.
P.S. Is it Samuel as in Clemens or as in Juan?
I’m just amused by the idea expressed above that because Harper isn’t as good as Mike Trout he’s no good. I guess there are only 4 or 5 good Major Leaguers and everybody else is a bum then, huh?
You Sir, have no idea what your talking about.
“Won nothing in his career”
You do realize that’s last year’s NL MVP you’re talking about, right? Love him or hate him, Harper is a top 10 player in the league and has matured immensely since coming to Philly. This is crazy talk.
Brett Gardner has had a solid major league career. Honestly, he’s made the most of his opportunities – 14 seasons with a consistent playoff contender is a great accomplishment. However, at this point in his career, he just doesn’t have the physical ability to play CF full-time. In fact, last season was only the second season he’s ever played over 100 games in center. Plus, his offensive numbers have been in decline. He brings limited power, and he hasn’t been getting on base as much as he once did.
he hurt himself beating another woman ?
I hope he won’t beat himself up over it.
sure says something about someone’s defense that they rather have Schwarber out there than Castellanos
Ready for that Castellanos, Schwarber, Harper outfield. Let’s get those E’s baby!
The 3 will never be in the OF at once IMO.
Give Moniak an extended shot hitting 9th in a platoon with Vierling. If he stays afloat good, if not it’s time to move on. The key is it has to be long enough to see if he really can transition to the bigs. With Rojas coming there’s little reason to expect him to be on the team after next year anyway.
and so it begins! what a shocker, he’s hurt again
Good, hope he misses the year
Brice chasing down balls between Schwarber in left and Castellanos in right is a recipe for disaster. Not that it would come to that, but the thought is frightening.
I’m not sure why people keep bringing up this scenario. It’s not even an option. Castellanos and Schwarbs will never be in the field at the same time most likely.
For six weeks, Phils ought to grab Billy Hamilton off the scrap heap. Can’t hit, but so what? Gotta have a big glove in CF. Always loved Billy. Fun player to watch.
Billy signed elsewhere already.
Just heard some rumors the Phillies could deal Bohm & Hasely and/or Moniak to Oakland for Roman Lauraneo & Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas. Anyone else hear anything like this? These two teams talked Matt Chapman so wouldn’t be surprised.
*609. U r dreaming about such a trade. Our garbage for 2 mlb players. Billy b never will do that deal. But I would welcome it
Bohm would get a high return. He’s a season removed from a monster season. At the same time, that’s good reason not to trade him.
Herrera resigned and the Eagles resign Barnett…
the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different (better) result.
If you had told me a month ago that Herrera and Barnett would both be resigned in Philly I would have never believed it.
Let’s hope Matt Vierling breaks out as the starter.