Phillies move on from Odúbel Herrera and Jeurys Familia

By the time the clock struck 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the Phillies had acquired a new center fielder in Brandon Marsh, a new reliever in David Robertson, and a new starter in Noah Syndergaard. But the bigger story might have been in the players they lost.

To make room for Marsh and Robertson on the active roster, Jeurys Familia and Odúbel Herrera were designated for assignment. Herrera, who has a previous outright assignment, will have the option to become a free agent if no one claims him. It’s hard to imagine he would not take that route.

The removal of Herrera and Familia from the active roster felt like an inevitability for multiple reasons. Familia was one of the Phillies’ big offseason acquisitions — a reliever who cost them $6 million for one year — but never lived up to his contract. He has a 6.09 ERA over 34 innings this season and has looked even worse lately.

» READ MORE: New reliever David Robertson won’t be the Phillies’ closer, Rob Thomson says

On Thursday, Familia took the mound in the ninth inning with an 8-2 lead to close out a game against the Pirates. He was facing one of the worst offenses — if not the worst offense — in the National League, and allowed five earned runs. He was able to record only one out.

On Sunday, Familia was put in a similar situation — ninth inning, 8-1 lead — and allowed a single, a walk, and an RBI single. Thanks to a savvy double play started by Didi Gregorius, Familia was bailed out. But it definitely was a close call.

After his Thursday outing, interim manager Rob Thomson lauded Familia’s intangibles. He praised his influence over some of the Phillies’ younger relievers, adding, “there’s more to Jeurys Familia than just what you see on the field.”

That may be true. But Familia’s off-field presence was marred by a misdemeanor domestic violence charge he received in 2016 for an incident between him and his wife, Bianca Rivas. The charge later was dropped, but Familia was suspended by MLB for 15 games at the beginning of the 2017 season.

Herrera came with similar baggage. In May 2019, he attempted “to cause bodily injury” to his 20-year-old girlfriend, leaving “hand print markings” on her neck and “small scratches” to her arms, according to a police report obtained by The Inquirer at the time of the incident. Like Familia, Herrera was suspended by MLB for violating the domestic violence policy, but he received a longer suspension: 85 games.

Herrera’s tenure with the Phillies was just as exasperating as Familia’s, if not more. He swung at pitches far out of the zone, sometimes pitches that hit the dirt or nearly hit him. He made poor decisions in the outfield. He could change a game with the swing of his bat, but lately hadn’t been doing much of anything offensively. Herrera batted .202/.253/.270 over his final 30 games as a Phillie.

» READ MORE: It’s time for the Phillies to bench Odúbel Herrera

In the Joe Girardi era, the response to these blunders often would be something along the lines of “That’s just Odúbel,” as if they were a foregone conclusion, and Herrera himself often said he was working on his plate discipline. But the numbers didn’t back that up. This year, Herrera was swinging at balls outside the zone at a 42% clip, the highest mark of his career. His strikeout rate increased from 15.7% in 2021 to 21.3% in 2022.

In Marsh, the Phillies aren’t getting a huge offensive upgrade, but they see upside in his bat, and certainly are getting a better defender. In Robertson, they’re getting a veteran reliever with a 2.23 ERA who can pitch in high-leverage spots. But perhaps more importantly, after 6 p.m. Tuesday, neither Herrera nor Familia is the Phillies’ problem anymore. Call it addition by subtraction.