Philadelphia Phillies: Is Odubel Herrera a potential trade-chip this offseason?

Odubel Herrera (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Odubel Herrera has arguably been the Philadelphia Phillies best player this season. Although he may be going through a bit of a slump as of late, that does not take away his value to this club. Unfortunately, good play is not always enough to ensure that a player won’t be traded.

This season, Herrera is batting .284 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. As a leadoff hitter, these are stats that compare well to other center fielders around the league. On top of that Herrera is only 24 years old. So, why would the Phillies consider trading a young player who has shown the ability to be a pretty good in this league?

Right now, the Phillies have a few players in the minor leagues that are on the cusp of being called-up to the majors. Those players are J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, and Roman Quinn. Williams and Quinn are both outfielders with the ability to play both corners and centerfield. Add in Aaron Altherr, who has shown great promise for this Phillies organization, and it seems that there just aren’t enough positions on the field to keep Herrera around.

With all this being considered, it makes sense for this team to try and see what they can get for Herrera. Like mentioned earlier, Herrera’s stats are certainly above average and because of that should command a market of many teams.

Herrera is the type of player that might be able to fetch a high-risk high-reward type of player. Someone that maybe hasn’t reached their ceiling and has the potential to be a star in this league.

It is likely that the Phillies won’t be calling these players up until at least September and could possibly even wait until the beginning of next season. With that being the case, look for Matt Klentak and the rest of this Phillies front office to be very active during the winter meetings as they try and gauge what teams value Herrera at and what they might be able to make happen via trade.