Odúbel Herrera looks good early in spring training, but will have to earn Phillies’ trust

It is just batting practice, but Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Odúbel Herrera’s first swings this spring in Clearwater, Fla., have been impressive. Members of Girardi’s staff -- coaches who knew Herrera before his arrest in May 2019 on domestic violence charges -- told the Phillies manager that the 29-year-old Herrera seems matured. And everyone agrees that Herrera has reported this spring in good shape.

But there’s still plenty for the former All-Star center fielder to prove before he can return to the big leagues.

“Work. You have to work. That’s the bottom line,” Girardi said of the brief conversation he had this week with Herrera. “He has to earn the trust of a lot of people and he’s working on it.”

Across the causeway from Clearwater, Yankees starter Domingo German postponed a news conference in Tampa on Sunday because he wanted to first address his teammates before speaking to the media about the 81-game suspension he received in January for violating the league’s domestic violence policy. Yankees reliever Zack Britton said last week there’s no “place in the game or off the field” for what German did.

The case against Herrera was dropped because his girlfriend did not want to proceed with charges. He was suspended by Major League Baseball for the remainder of the 2019 season and was removed from the Phillies’ 40-man roster for last season.

He has not yet faced public criticism from his teammates, but he likely will meet some resistance. Explaining himself to his teammates could help him earn the trust that Girardi said he needs as this is the first time Herrera has formally been around the major-league team since serving his suspension.

“If Odúbel approached me and wanted to do it, I would be more than open to it,” Girardi said.

Herrera is not in major-league camp this spring but is one of 18 players invited to “minicamp.” He’ll train with the big-league players and play in Grapefruit League games but dress in the minor-league clubhouse.

The Phillies said he has a chance to win a roster spot. They have yet to settle on a starting center fielder and Herrera is a contender along with Adam Haseley, Scott Kingery, and Roman Quinn. First, he has work to do.

“[Coaches] think he’s in a pretty good frame of mind from what they’ve seen down here,” Girardi said. “We will watch that closely. He’s been responsible, where he’s supposed to be all the time, and working hard. That’s all you can ask from a player.”

Girardi, like all major-league managers, is accustomed to opening spring training by standing in front of the clubhouse and addressing his players. Not this year.

Girardi planned to address the Phillies virtually on Sunday night from his condo, opening camp through a team-wide Zoom meeting before Monday’s first full-squad workout.

“It is awkward. I know for the players it’s shorter, so they probably like it,” Girardi said. “... I’m really hoping this comes to an end fairly soon and we can have normal team meetings.”

Girardi said he planned to keep the call informal, reminding players about the team’s daily schedule and allowing new players to see staffers they haven’t yet met.

“I’m going to talk about what we feel is important as an organization,” Girardi said. “I’m going to talk about how important family is to me and it should be to you. There’s situations that happen over the course of the year and if you need something, come talk to me. I’m going to talk to them about preparation and we’re going to ask you to do some things in spring training. You know yourself and your body and what you need more than anything else, so if you don’t feel like you’re getting what you need, come talk to us. We’ll adapt and we’ll adjust.

“It’s more about getting them comfortable with what our organization expects and what I expect.”