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Odubel Herrera

Odubel Herrera Suspended For Remainder Of Season

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Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera will be suspended for the remainder of the season, the league has announced on the heels of a report from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (via Twitter). Commissioner Rob Manfred determined that Herrera violated the MLB-MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy.

Criminal charges were brought against Herrera after his arrest in Atlantic City on May 28th. At the time, it was alleged that Herrera had caused visible injuries to the arms and neck of his 20-year-old girlfriend. Those charges were dropped recently because the alleged victim did not wish to pursue prosecution. The league policy vests authority in Manfred to find a violation of its terms regardless of the presence of formal legal action, successful or otherwise, by authorities.

Though Herrera has been on administrative leave since the end of May, the suspension will formally be leveled retroactive to June 24 and will run for 85 games in total. That will cost Herrera just over half of his $5MM salary this season. He’ll be precluded from participating in the postseason this year and also be required to participate in a treatment program.

Herrera has agreed not to appeal the determination. That’s a common stipulation reached in these matters, prior to the formal imposition of punishment. This suspension is one of the lengthiest yet to come down from Manfred’s office. Previously, Jose Torres (100 games), Hector Olivera (82 games), and Roberto Osuna (75 games) were among those to have the dubious distinction of being hit with penalties of similar magnitude.

The Phillies have released a statement on the matter, saying that the organization supports the suspension and is “encouraged by Odubel’s acceptance of his discipline as an indication of his willingness to learn from this and change his behavior appropriately.” The Philadelphia organization owes him $7MM next year, $10MM for 2021, and $3.5MM in total buyouts for a pair of ensuing club options.

Herrera issued his own statement via the MLBPA (Twitter link). He acknowledged “inappropriate behavior” but did not specify what that constituted. Herrera further states: “I acted in an unacceptable manner and am terribly disappointed in myself. I alone am to blame for my actions. I’ve taken meaningful steps to assure that nothing like this will ever happen again.”

Criminal Charges Against Odubel Herrera Dropped

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Criminal charges against Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera were dropped this morning, Megan Montemurro of The Athletic reports on Twitter. Herrera had been facing a count of simple assault relating to a domestic violence incident in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His girlfriend, the alleged victim, did not wish to proceed with prosecution.

This news seems to bring an end to the legal jeopardy for Herrera, who was alleged to have struck his girlfriend in such a manner that she “had visible signs of injury to her arms and neck.” He will be required to undergo sixty days of counseling, per Amy Rosenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).

That does not necessarily mean that he will be able to resume his playing career right away. Herrera has been on paid administrative leave since the 28th of May, the day after his arrest, a period covering 34 of the team’s games (including today’s scheduled contest). The leave period has been extended several times, most recently through this coming Friday, as Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted on Twitter.

When Herrera will be reinstated remains to be seen. Commissioner Rob Manfred could yet issue a suspension pursuant to the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. His authority to do so is not dependent upon whether or not criminal charges are pursued (and, if so, whether a player is convicted). Should Manfred issue a suspension, Herrera’s time on administrative leave would be counted as time served, but he would be required to sacrifice his earnings for the entire period.

It is also unclear at this point how Herrera will be handled by the Philadelphia organization. He is owed a total of $5MM this year, with another $20.5MM remaining thereafter on the extension he signed in December of 2016. The contract runs through 2021 and includes a pair of club options.

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Matt Klentak Discusses Odubel Herrera

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The Phillies haven’t had center fielder Odubel Herrera since May 28, when Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave after an arrest on a simple assault charge relating to a domestic violence incident. MLB has since extended Herrera’s leave twice, and while it’s unclear whether he’ll return this season, the Phillies are operating as if they won’t be able to count on him, general manager Matt Klentak said Monday (via Matt Gelb of The Athletic).

“I can tell you from a roster building perspective,” Klentak said, “we need to assume that we’re not going to have Odúbel anytime soon.”

In addition to dealing with potentially abhorrent off-field behavior from Herrera, the Phillies haven’t benefited from his on-field presence of late. Herrera was a valuable producer from 2015-17, a span in which he accounted for 9.4 fWAR and landed a $30.5MM contract extension from the Phillies. He could still earn another $24MM on the deal, including a combined $3.5MM in buyouts from 2022-23, which is hardly a crippling amount for the club. Still, the Phillies haven’t gotten what they’ve wanted on the diamond from Herrera, who has essentially been a replacement-level player since 2018. The 27-year-old came out of the gates this season with a paltry line of .222/.288/.341 (66 wRC+) and one home run in 139 plate appearances before going on the restricted list.

Shortly after Herrera went away, the Phillies saw Andrew McCutchen suffer a season-ending torn left ACL in early June. They then promoted outfield prospect Adam Haseley, who quickly went to the IL because of a groin issue. With those three not in the mix at the moment, Philly has deployed Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn – almost exclusively the former – in center over the past two-plus weeks.

The 25-year-old Kingery’s enjoying a fantastic season, meaning the Herrera-less Phillies shouldn’t necessarily have to upgrade center in advance of the July 31 trade deadline. However, because Kingery’s also still seeing time at third base, where Maikel Franco has fallen out of favor, it’ll give the playoff-contending Phillies room to seek help at either position in the next month-plus.

East Notes: Syndergaard, Giles, Eovaldi, Herrera, Marlins

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The Mets are optimistic the right hamstring strain that sent starter Noah Syndergaard to the 10-day injured list Sunday isn’t serious, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relays. Syndergaard said Monday he’s in “tip-top” shape, while manager Mickey Callaway announced the right-hander’s dealing with a “low-grade” strain. Additionally, Callaway suggested righty Wilmer Font could take Syndergaard’s next turn in New York’s rotation. The 29-year-old Font has managed a 4.43 ERA/5.25 FIP with 5.31 K/9 and 3.98 BB/9 in 20 1/3 innings since the Mets acquired him from the Rays on May 6.

Here’s more from the East Coast…

  • Blue Jays closer Ken Giles went to the IL on June 12 with right elbow inflammation, an ominous-sounding injury for a pitcher. However, the Blue Jays don’t expect him to stay on the IL past the 10-day mark, manager Charlie Montoyo said Monday (via Scott Mitchell of TSN). That’s especially good news for Toronto considering Giles could be one of the game’s top trade chips leading up to the July 31 deadline. The hard-throwing 28-year-old has upped his stock this season with a brilliant 1.08 ERA/1.18 FIP, 15.12 K/9 against 2.52 BB/9, and 11 saves on 12 chances across 25 innings.
  • Injured Red Sox righty Nathan Eovaldi played catch for the first time since June 4 on Monday, but there’s still no timetable for his return, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Eovaldi underwent right elbow surgery April 21. The hope then was that Eovaldi would only miss four to six weeks, but the bicep soreness he has dealt with this month has delayed a comeback.
  • Major League Baseball announced Monday it has extended Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera’s administrative leave through July 1. This is the second time MLB has taken this action since it originally placed him on leave May 28, a day after Herrera was arrested on a simple assault charge relating to a domestic violence incident. MLB previously extended Herrera’s leave through today back on June 3.
  • Marlins southpaw Caleb Smith could return from the IL as early as this weekend, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio tweets. Smith went to the IL with left hip inflammation June 7. He was a much-needed bright spot for the club before then, evidenced by a 3.41 ERA/4.21 FIP with 11.18 K/9 and 2.73 BB/9 over 66 frames.

Odubel Herrera Placed On Administrative Leave After Arrest

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11:34am: Herrera has been placed on administrative leave, Gelb tweets.

10:49am: Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera was arrested last night in Atlantic City, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. He was released after being charged with simple assault relating to a domestic violence incident, Matt Gelb of The Athletic adds on Twitter.

Herrera is said to have been arrested after an incident involving a 20-year-old woman believed to be his girlfriend. She “had visible signs of injury to her arms and neck” due to the alleged assault, according to the police report obtained by Gelb.

It is disturbing and disheartening to learn of another alleged perpetration of domestic violence from a MLB player. Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias was arrested recently and is also facing criminal charges. Numerous other players have been suspended in recent years under the MLB-MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy.

Given the reported facts, it seems all but certain that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred will exercise his authority to place the 27-year-old Herrera on administrative leave. The policy authorizes the commissioner to place players on paid leave for one week at a time during the pendency of an investigation.

The Phillies had an off day yesterday and are scheduled to begin a home series today. If Herrera is placed on administrative leave, the club would be able to bring up a replacement player this evening.

Where things go from that point remains to be seen. In situations in which the league has been able to acquire evidence to support the possibility of an action that violates the policy, it has applied successive leave periods to keep a player out of action while final punishment is assessed. But that is not always the course. Urias was reinstated one week after his arrest while the league continues its investigation.

Phillies Designate Aaron Altherr For Assignment

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Per a team release, the Phillies have designated OF Aaron Altherr for assignment after activating OF Odubel Herrera from the 10-Day IL.

Altherr, 28, has shown promise since his 2015 debut, most notably slugging .516 en route to a stellar 121 wRC+ across 418 plate appearances in 2017, but has too often been dogged been inconsistency and a climbing strikeout rate. In 285 PAs for the club last season, Altherr slashed a meager .181/.295/.333 (75 wRC+) and didn’t bring much back on defense, where a -2.6 UZR in 427 right-field innings resulted in an ugly -0.4 fWAR.

Though he accrued just 30 plate appearances in his short time with the Phillies this season, the trajectory wasn’t encouraging: Altherr had already managed to worsen his hideous fWAR mark from the season prior, and hadn’t showed even a glimpse of the career-best plate discipline he’d flashed in ’18.

This’ll likely be the end of the line for Altherr in Philadelphia – 28-year-olds with the ability to play center field and multiple 120 wRC+ or better seasons (albeit in limited action) under their belt aren’t often designated, and he’d seem to represent a clear outfield upgrade for at least a handful of teams. The Indians, with a league-worst 69 wRC+ and a cast of scattered disappointments in the outfield, may already be hot on the trail.

NL East Notes: Phillies’ Outfield, Mets’ Bullpen, Solis, Lopez

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Offseason additions of Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen have left the Phillies with an overcrowded outfield mix that will likely lead to some roster shuffling. As The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro examines at length (subscription required), the Phils now have five outfielders — Odubel Herrera, Roman Quinn, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr and Dylan Cozens — all on the 40-man roster beyond their two big-name pickups. Both Herrera and Quinn are currently nursing minor injuries, but they’re also the two most logical options for center field. Williams, meanwhile, isn’t viewed as an option in center, per manager Gabe Kapler, which severely clouds his future with the team. Williams does have minor league options remaining, but he could also hold appeal as a trade asset marketed to other clubs in search of outfield help. (The same could be true of Herrera, but he’s owed $24.5MM through 2021 and had a down season in 2018.) Of the Phillies’ current outfielders, both Altherr and Quinn are out of minor league options, which only enhances the likelihood of some roster moves in the next couple of weeks.

Elsewhere in the division…

  • Because of the numerous off-days baked into the early-season schedule, the Mets are likelier to open the season with seven relievers than they are with eight, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo are locks to hold down five of those spots, and Puma adds that non-roster lefties Luis Avilan and Hector Santiago are strong candidates to claim the other two slots. Both veterans signed minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training, and both have thrown quite well to open camp. That’d give manager Mickey Callaway three lefties to utilize out of the ’pen early in the season, although it wouldn’t leave the team with too much in the way of roster flexibility. With so many veteran relievers on board, the only three pitchers of that bunch who could technically be optioned to the minors would be Lugo, Gsellman and Diaz — none of whom would figure to be sent down to the minors at any point. If the Mets do eventually shift to carrying eight relievers, they’d be able to use that final ’pen slot to shuffle some fresh arms back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A Syracuse.
  • Left-hander Sammy Solis was caught “completely off guard” by the Nationals’ decision to release him, the pitcher tells Richard Justice of MLB.com. Solid seemingly took the abrupt and unexpected news in good stride, thanking the organization and expressing some disappointment over having to say goodbye to longtime teammates. As manager Dave Martinez explains, the move was made with an eye toward giving Solis a chance to find another organization before the season begins. “For me, it was more about giving Sammy an opportunity to latch on with another team and get a chance to have that Spring Training elsewhere,” said Martinez. The Nats also shed $713K in salary with the move, which surely played a factor as well. The 30-year-old Solid has had a pair of unsightly seasons over the past two years, including a 2017 campaign that was shortened by elbow troubles. He maintains that he’s healthy now, though, and one would imagine that a lefty who averaged nearly 94 mph on his fastball to go along with a 12.9 percent swinging-strike rate in 2018 will garner interest — even if only on a minor league contract.
  • Right-hander Pablo Lopez is making a strong case to open the season in the Marlins’ rotation, but manager Don Mattingly said this weekend that no decisions have been made as to who’ll round out the rotation behind Jose Urena and Dan Straily, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Lopez tossed four perfect innings and picked up four punchouts in his most recent outing against a Nationals lineup featuring many regulars. He’s now allowed just one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in nine spring frames. Wei-Yin Chen’s contract — he’s owed $42MM over the next two seasons — makes him a likely candidate to get a long look, while other rotation hopefuls include Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards and southpaw Caleb Smith.

Health Notes: Nelson, Herrera, Swanson, Oaks

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Brewers hurler Jimmy Nelson is pausing his throwing program owing to “arm fatigue discomfort,” president of baseball operations David Stearns tells reporters including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. All involved say they’re unconcerned with the development, with manager Craig Counsell labeling it “a very minor setback.” It has been a long road back already for Nelson, who hasn’t thrown a competitive inning since undergoing a labrum procedure in September of 2017. He’ll need to wait a while longer before taking the bump in a Spring Training contest, with the club understandably maintaining a conservative plan in light of his health history.

More health notes from around the game …

  • The Phillies say that outfielder Odubel Herrera is dealing with a grade 1 hamstring strain, Matt Breen of Philly.com reports on Twitter. He’s said to be “coming along,” though skipper Gabe Kapler couldn’t specify when Herrera will be ready to take the field. It’s not a terribly worrying injury at the outset of camp, though it will limit Herrera’s opportunities to get in a groove after a disappointing 2018 season. The wild card in the situation is the Phils’ ongoing pursuit of Bryce Harper and their as-yet-unknown plans for shuffling the outfield deck if they sign him. The injury might impact Herrera’s marketability, if he’s a player the team would consider moving to make way for Harper.
  • Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson is readying for his first Spring Training game action at the end of the week, per Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). That seems to represent a positive sign for a player who underwent wrist surgery at the conclusion of the 2018 campaign. Swanson had a quiet but reasonably promising 2018 campaign, with sparkling glovework and baserunning making up for still-lagging production at the plate. Swanson produced only a .238/.304/.395 slash (80 wRC+) with 14 home runs and ten steals over 533 plate appearances, but that represented a step forward after a rough 2017 effort. He’ll open camp with a presumption of at least semi-regular playing time, but could face pressure from Johan Camargo over the course of the season.
  • Hip surgery is on the table for Royals righty Trevor Oaks, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports (subscription link). If it is determined that he needs to go under the knife for a labrum tear, the 25-year-old will miss a significant portion of the season to come. Oaks turned in 128 1/3 innings of 3.23 ERA ball at Triple-A last year after he was acquired in last winter’s Scott Alexander swap. He managed only 4.9 K/9 with 3.1 BB/9 on the year, though did post a 50.2% groundball rate (which actually lags his well-above-average minor-league career groundball numbers). Oaks also made a brief MLB debut in 2018. As Dodd explains, it didn’t seem likely that he’d crack the active roster to open the coming campaign. Nevertheless, the loss would dent the Royals’ rotation depth.

NL East Notes: Herrera, Mets, Braves, Castro

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Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera left camp today with a wrap on his leg after aggravating a hamstring strain he’d suffered a few weeks ago in offseason workouts, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Manager Gabe Kapler called the issue “mild,” and there doesn’t seem to be any immediate concern, though it’s obviously a situation worth monitoring. More broadly, though, Salisbury’s latest piece takes a look at Herrera’s future with the Phillies — particularly with the addition of Bryce Harper still very much on the table for the Phils. Herrera could potentially become a trade option in the event that the Phils land Harper, Salisbury notes, and even if it’s not Herrera, one of the Phillies’ incumbent outfielders would likely be forced out of the picture. Although Herrera only just turned 27, he’s been a fixture on the Phillies’ roster for the past four seasons. He’s guaranteed $24.5MM over the next three seasons as part of a $30.5MM contract extension that also contains a pair of club options.

Here’s more from the National League East…

  • Mets fans have become all too familiar with the injury bug in recent seasons, and unfortunately, the club is already dealing with at least one injury scare. As Tim Healey of Newsday writes, newly signed infielder Jed Lowrie is headed for an MRI after experiencing discomfort in his left knee. Lowrie describes the issue as soreness on the back side of his knee and says it first surfaced when getting up to full speed in running drills and when taking batting practice. Beyond Lowrie, outfielder Brandon Nimmo is experiencing some shoulder soreness but is confident that the issue is just a matter of early-spring soreness rather than an indication of anything serious.
  • The Braves will give top third base prospect Austin Riley some work in the outfield this spring, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That experiment isn’t indicative of a permanent position switch but instead would be a means of seeing if Riley can provide some value to this year’s MLB roster after the addition of Josh Donaldson firmly blocked Riley’s path to regular at-bats at the hot corner. As evidenced by his .294/.360/.522 slash line across three levels last year (including .282/.346/.464 in 374 Triple-A plate appearances), the soon-to-be 22-year-old Riley may not have much left to prove against minor league pitching. Donaldson’s addition already pushed versatile Johan Camargo from a starter back to a utility role, Cunningham notes, and the emergence of Riley as a viable MLB option would only further limit Camargo in 2019. Of course, that scenario wouldn’t necessarily play out early in the season, and if Riley does eventually prove ready, it’d only be a boon to the Braves’ roster to have that level of depth and talent in the dugout. The 25-year-old Camargo is sometimes overlooked by those who don’t follow the Braves closely, but he posted a very solid .272/.349/.457 slash with 19 home runs last season and is slated to get a few starts per week as a backup at third base, second base and shortstop.
  • The Marlins received limited trade interest in Starlin Castro at last summer’s trade deadline, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, but they’ll likely have more motivation to make a deal involving him this time around. Infield prospect Isan Diaz, acquired from the Brewers in last year’s Christian Yelich trade, reached Triple-A as a 22-year-old last season, and while he struggled there against older competition, he’ll have another several months to inch closer to MLB readiness. Diaz ranked 104th among MLB prospects on Fangraphs’ 2019 rankings and is slotted in seventh among Miami farmhands on MLB.com’s rankings (in addition to being their No. 10 overall second base prospect). Castro, meanwhile, is set to earn $12MM in his contract’s final guaranteed season ($11MM salary, $1MM buyout on next year’s $16MM team option). At that price, he’s not exactly a bargain but he isn’t grossly overpaid, either, considering last year’s .278/.329/.400 slash (101 wRC+, 107 OPS+). Fangraphs valued Castro at 2.3 wins above replacement, while Baseball-Reference was more bullish at 3.3 WAR.

East Notes: Yankees, Phils, Herrera, Red Sox, Blue Jays

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The Yankees signed right-hander Luis Severino to a four-year, $40MM extension shortly before they were scheduled to face off against him in arbitration Friday. General manager Brian Cashman spoke about the buzzer-beating agreement Saturday, saying (via George A. King III of the New York Post): “We circled back 30 minutes before the hearing and I asked [agent Nelson Montes de Oca] if he wanted to circle back to my room again. The atmosphere was better, different. We both said we would rather not walk into this hearing and do what we have to do. We gave a little, they gave a little. The Severino extension may not be the last one the Yankees dole out before the season, as Cashman revealed that the club has “had conversations with some” unidentified players regarding new deals. Speculatively, center fielder Aaron Hicks, shortstop Didi Gregorius and reliever Dellin Betances – integral Yankees slated to reach free agency next winter – look like logical candidates.

Here’s the latest on a few other East Coast franchises:

  • Manager Gabe Kapler claims the Phillies aren’t guaranteeing a No. 1 job to center fielder Odubel Herrera, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Herrera’s a four-year starter in Philly who still has three guaranteed seasons left on the $30.5MM extension he signed in 2016, but he turned in an underwhelming showing in 2018. He’ll now compete for a place in center and right this spring with Roman Quinn, Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr, according to Kapler. Although, if the Phillies add superstar right fielder Bryce Harper in free agency, it’ll give the Herrera-Quinn-Williams-Altherr quartet one fewer position to fight over. Herrera, for his part, has worked hard in recent months to get himself into better shape, as Lauber details, and Kapler expects the 27-year-old to benefit from the Phillies’ hiring of first base/outfield/baserunning coach Paco Figueroa.
  • The Red Sox are expected to trade a catcher – be it Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon or Blake Swihart – before the season. If that happens, they’ll likely be left with minor league signing Juan Centeno as their No. 3 backstop. Manager Alex Cora said Saturday he’d be “comfortable” in that scenario, pointing out he’s familiar with the veteran Centeno from their time with the World Series-winning Houston organization in 2017, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. Centeno’s contract does not include an opt-out clause, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed to Smith, so the Red Sox aren’t in danger of losing him before the season. However, as Smith notes, if Boston adds Centeno to its 40-man roster at some point and then tries to send him to the minors, it’ll need to pass him through waivers because he’s out of options.
  • Left-hander Ryan Borucki was one of the few bright spots on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff in 2018, a rookie year in which he turned in a 3.87 ERA/3.80 FIP over 97 2/3 innings and 17 starts. Nevertheless, while it appears the Jays are guaranteeing starting spots to Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and newcomers Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard heading into the season, general manager Ross Atkins indicated this week that Borucki will have to battle for a role in their rotation this spring, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com relays. The soon-to-be 25-year-old Borucki still looks to be the front-runner for the Jays’ No. 5 spot, though, as he’s clearly the most proven 40-man option left on their staff.

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