Could Odúbel Herrera hit his way into a full-time centerfield job?
The Phillies player can still swing for the fences.
Phillies center fielder Odúbel Herrera was reinstated from the 10-day IL on April 22, and hasn’t wasted much time in heating up at the plate. He’s homered in back-to-back games, and is batting .357/.333/1.000 over his first five games of the regular season.
The tentative plan was to have Herrera platoon with utility player Matt Vierling, but Phillies manager Joe Girardi said on Friday that if Herrera keeps hitting the way he has been, it’s possible he could take the job for himself.
“I think it’s important that Vierling plays against left-handers somewhere,” Girardi said. “Just because he was so good last year, and he was pretty good this year. I know he struggled yesterday. But Vierling’s been really good against left-handed pitching. So I could put him in left field one day too, and play Odúbel. Or I could do what I did yesterday and play Roman (Quinn).”
Vierling has played every outfield position at the big league level, as well as a few starts at first base last year, which allows Girardi some flexibility in how he uses him. He is going through a bit of a cold spell right now; Vierling hasn’t recorded a hit in his last three games, and is batting .188/.316/.188 over his past seven games.
Yet Girardi think he will warm up, and likes his bat against lefties (in 34 career big league games, Vierling has batted .328/.369/.393).
The centerfield competition will only get more crowded when Mickey Moniak returns; Moniak, who made the team after a strong spring training, was moved to the injured list with a right hand fracture after he was hit by a pitch in his last at-bat of the spring. Moniak is being re-evaluated weekly, but is still a ways away: he is not able to take swings yet.