By: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor 
Without Odubel Herrera, the Philadelphia Phillies outfield is collectively hitting .193 in 2016. Despite that, ESPN's Jayson Stark said in a Tuesday appearance on 97.5 the Fanatic that a league executive told him that he believes the Phillies should trade the 24-year-old center fielder.
"I talked to 1 exec that said they should trade Odubel Herrera.With all the OFs they have on the way. So trade him for a pitcher"- @jaysonst
— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) May 10, 2016
With all due respect to this executive, this opinion is wrong. The Phillies do still have Nick Williams and Roman Quinn in the minors, along with Aaron Altherr likely to be part of the team's long-term outfielding picture, but Herrera continues to improve at the major league level, while the other three are among the outfielding talent in the Phillies organization that are yet to prove anything at the major league level.
Herrera, on the other hand, was among the top five center fielders in UZR in 2015, while also hitting .297 and posting a 3.9 WAR. In 2016, he's overcome a slow start at the plate to lead the team in batting average and is among the league leaders in walks and on-base percentage. So the Phillies may have some outfield talent in their minor leagues, along with the ability to add more through free-agency and the MLB Draft in the next few years, but there's no reason to think that Herrera couldn't be a key cog on the next great Phillies team.
If the Phillies do end up with two talented young center fielders in Herrera and Quinn, they could move one to a corner outfield position, or trade one for another need at that time. Prior to the 2008 season, the Phillies elected to keep Shane Victorino, who ended up being a multiple-time All-Star, and traded Michael Bourn, who also ended up being a multiple-time All-Star. That move landed the Phillies Brad Lidge, who was 41 for 41 in save attempts that year, as he and Victorino helped lead the Phillies to a World Series title.
