The Phillies promoted Mickey Moniak this week as Odúbel Herrera isn’t ‘quite there yet’

The Phillies did not trim Odúbel Herrera last month from their opening-day roster until shortly before boarding their flight home from spring training. Herrera was the last player cut from camp after he lost the competition for the starting job in center-field to Adam Haseley.

But when Haseley took a leave of absence this week - less than three weeks after the Phillies chose him over Herrera - it was Mickey Moniak who took Haseley’s place while Herrera remained in Allentown.

“We just felt for Odúbel, that he’s not quite there yet with consistent at-bats,” manager Joe Girardi said before Friday night’s series opener against St. Louis. “We felt best about Mickey’s at-bats on a consistent basis and that’s why we went in that direction.”

Herrera has not played for the Phillies since he was arrested on domestic violence charges in May of 2019 in Atlantic City. He was suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season and the Phillies said this spring that they were judging Herrera solely on his performance.

Girardi was asked Friday if ownership was still on board with Herrera joining the Phillies and the manager said that is not a problem.

Herrera is not on the 40-man roster, but a roster spot was cleared when Haseley was placed on the restricted list. Haseley, who had four hits in his first 21 at-bats, took an indefinite leave for personal reasons.

Girardi said Herrera has had “some ups and downs” this month in Allentown, where the team’s taxi-squad is playing games against Yankees minor-leaguers. Herrera hit .231 in spring training with a .789 OPS in 52 at-bats. His four homers tied Bryce Harper for the team lead.

“When you call somebody up, you want them on a roll,” Girardi said. “You want them to be consistent and that’s what we’re trying to get.”

Moniak also had a strong spring, but he was sent to minor-league camp a week before camp finished. The Phillies wanted him to play every day in the minor leagues, but those plans changed when Haseley left.

Moniak started Friday night and is expected to play nearly every day. The Phillies are desperate for production in center-field so Moniak will be given a chance to provide it. Phillies’ center-fielders entered Friday with the second-lowest batting average and the worst OPS in the majors.

“We told him he’s going to play. That’s the bottom line,” Girardi said. “It’s not like ‘I’m going to play you one day and sit you the next.’ That’s not what I’m going to do. ‘You’re going to play against right-handers and I might even choose to play you against some of the left-handers. So just go out and play and do your thing. I don’t want him saying ‘If I don’t get a hit today, will I be in there tomorrow?’ No. He’s going to play.”

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Three coaches - hitting coach Joe Dillon, third-base coach Dusty Wathan, and bullpen coach Dave Lundquist - were absent Friday because of COVID-19 safety protocols. The team did not disclose any more information. First-base coach Paco Figueroa replaced Wathan and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham coached first.

Bryce Harper appeared on ESPN Friday morning to surprise Josh Scott, the 14-year-old Phillies fan who gave his home-run ball last week to a young Braves fan in Atlanta.

“That’s pretty cool what you did, man. That’s big time,” Harper said. “I’m glad we had some fans in Atlanta. I need some help in right field as you know.”

Scott dropped Freddie Freeman’s home run last Friday in Atlanta. The ball landed into the Braves bullpen but Scott dropped it again when a player tossed it up. He finally caught it and quickly gave it to a boy wearing a Freeman jersey. The entire sequence was captured on the broadcast and went viral.

The Braves invited Scott and his father, James, to Sunday’s game and gave them seats behind the Phillies’ dugout. Freeman presented Scott, who lives in North Carolina, with a ball signed by himself and Bryce Harper. Harper invited him Friday to a Phillies game.

“You always want to give back to everyone around you and do the things you can to help people out just like our Heavenly Father did for all of us. That’s truly what I believe,” Harper said. “My dad instilled that into me when I was younger to always give back to your community and to always give back to the people around you and good things will happen.”