Phillies' President's Comment on Odubel Herrera Makes it Seem Like They Won't Cut Him Anytime Soon
By Jerry Trotta
Major League Baseball elected to suspend Odubel Hererra for the rest of the 2019 season -- an 85 game suspension retroactive to his administrative leave on June 24.
The news came as an utter shock as the Phillies' outfielder had his domestic violence charges dropped just two days prior to the league's ruling, thereby insinuating that commissioner Rob Manfred is aiming to set a no-tolerance precedent and policy regarding DV.
Well, Philadelphia isn't exactly championing Manfred's ambitions as club president Andy MacPhail said on Friday that the Phils would only consider cutting Herrera based on his on-field production and NOT his off-the-field behavior.
Phillies president Andy MacPhail said Odubel Herrera will be "evaluated based on what happens on the baseball field" per the CBA when his suspension ends.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) July 12, 2019
So can the Phillies release him? "If you have a baseball reason, you can."
It's OK if your stomachs just turned while reading those quotes. Ours did too.
It's the same old story. The Cubs elected to hold onto Addison Russell; the Yankees didn't cut ties with Aroldis Chapman; the Astros kept hold of Roberto Osuna; and the Mets retained Jeurys Familia (and later signed Jose Reyes following a DV suspension). All because they produce on the diamond.
What will the #Phillies do with Odúbel Herrera? Releasing him is not a straightforward option https://t.co/9zhFVK26O6
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) July 4, 2019
Yet, teams are fairly limited in this capacity, as they cannot simply cut a player once they are suspended. Should the Phillies simply release Herrera, they're essentially committing double jeopardy, or punishing him for the same offense. This is why MacPhail states it must be for a baseball reason, which seems like a huge hole in the CBA which ought to be negotiated properly for situations just like this.
MLB said specifically that Odúbel Herrera is ineligible for the 2019 postseason. Was not the case for Roberto Osuna last year. Definitely was not the case when Aroldis Chapman was suspended 30 games in 2016 — his postseason eligibility had a huge impact on the Cubs and Yankees.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 5, 2019
MacPhail and the Phillies may want to move on from Herrera, but simply cutting him doesn't look to be a legitimate option unless they find a loophole.