Obudel Herrera is now a multi-millionaire Phillies baseball player
The Phillies signed Odubel Herrera to a five year deal, was the headlines this past week as the Phils locked up the speedy center fielder who himself may have been surprised at the move.
The signing came at a time when the Phillies really didn’t have to do it, maybe they think Odubel is going to have a breakout year in 2017, and this move will save them money in the long run.
At times it seemed like the Phillies weren’t sold on Odubel, he sat the bench a few times, was called out to be more professional on the field by manager, Pete Mackanin, when it came to keeping his feelings and emotions in check.
On the field, he’s shown promise, not anything that would lead you to believe that he may be a player that is voted on as an all-star, (the Phillies already named Odubel to the All-star ranks from the team last season) but a guy that will be getting on base and catching a lot of fly balls in the outfield. Anymore, that recipe will be getting you to a big payday in the MLB. A five-year deal for someone who hasn’t accomplished all that much is a bit of a gamble. Will this player get better or will he just play about the same?
Fangraphs.com recently wrote an article that says that Odubel may have sold himself short. The article goes on to compare Herrera and his WAR, Wins Above Replacement player, ranking as a key point to the article. Players really aren’t paid according to WAR rankings though. So, when they say he sold himself short, they don’t know that Odubel would have been foolish to turn down $30.5M dollars for 5 years when he is only going to be 25 years old this season.
Fan reaction has been mixed to this news, they appreciate the hustle that Odubel puts in but a lot of fans didn’t see him as the player that the Phillies (at least in December of 2016) were going to build around.
One thing is for sure though, the Phillies did have to start making some decisions for the future. This is one of the first contracts that have been finalized for a certain number of years into the future. We’ll see if the saavy Dartmouth graduate, GM Matt Klentak, made the best move with this starting this season.