Odubel Herrera was selected by the Phillies in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft, when thereafter, he quickly established himself as a starter for the team in 2015, hitting nearly .300 on the year. Philadelphia was in a low organizational spot in ‘15, so they saw Herrera’s limited success that year atop the lackluster lineup as potential for sustained success moving forward. He, along with former Phillies 3B Maikel Franco, 2B Cesar Hernandez, and SP Aaron Nola were supposed to be the young and potent ‘core’ that ball-clubs desire during a rebuilding phase. Unfortunately, they never found success with those pieces. Franco and Hernandez were gone by the end of the ‘18 season, while Herrera and Nola remained. Herrera saw a steady decline in batting average every year since ‘15, reaching his lowest mark of .220 by mid-2019. Although, he was hitting for more power with bolstered homerun numbers, launching a career high of 22HR in ‘18. He was the Phillies’ lone All-Star in 2016 and arguably could have been one in 2018 as well.
In mid-2019, Odubel Herrera committed a despicable domestic assault against his 20-year old girlfriend at an Atlantic City nightclub. The Phillies released the criminal and scandalous Odubel promptly, so he didn’t play professional baseball in 2020. 
Despite several Phillies not wanting to share a locker room with Herrera for what he did, the organization didn’t have much of a choice in 2021 with a roster hole in center field, so they re-signed Odubel. Some argued he had ‘paid his dues’ after serving a league suspension and attending legal rehabilitation. He quickly outplayed his competition by mid-spring and earned a starting role once again in the outfield. He did have somewhat of a comeback year, hitting .260 with 13HR for Philly, and filling that outfield void. His most memorable moment of the year came at Nationals Park, when he tied the game for the Phils with a solo homerun off of CL Brad Hand, with 2 outs in the 9th.
Odubel deserves credit for a respectable job in center field in 2021, but he still remains a controversial athlete in this city for domestic violence. If that weren’t a factor, he would likely be brought back – but it’s reality, so his future in Philly remains undetermined in ‘22 as the MLB player lockout remains in effect. Many are hoping the Phillies sign a stronger outfielder than what Odubel can provide, like Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos.
Hey Sam! This is really interesting. I always wondered how different industries handle people like Odubel who are good at what they do, despite having committed indisputably horrible acts. There’s a lot of this in the film industry, hence why I’m interested in how sports teams handle this kind of behavior. Is financially supporting Odubel unethical after what he did? If that is the case, then what about the people you mentioned who believed that he had ‘paid his dues?’ It is interesting to see how the Phillies might handle this kind of situation as it might say a lot about what they really prioritize.