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MRI shows Odúbel Herrera has mild strain in right oblique; likely out 4-6 weeks

Matt Vierling and Adam Haseley could platoon at center field, or compete for the spot full time.

Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera fielding a fly ball during a spring training workout on March 18.
Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera fielding a fly ball during a spring training workout on March 18.Read moreJose F. Moreno/ Staff Photographer

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday that center fielder Odúbel Herrera has a mild strain in his right oblique and will almost certainly miss opening day, if not the first four to six weeks of the regular season.

“We’re not going to rush him,” Girardi said. “We were happy with his progress the first couple of days and we had it done Monday night. We got the results on Tuesday. You’ll see, he’s still running and doing things. We’ve just got to let this heal up before he starts swinging. Because I don’t want it to linger. And I’ve found that a lot of guys say they’re OK to come back, but there’s still kind of a weakness, and they’re not quite the same. So we’re going to make sure he’s OK.”

» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos hopes to experience with Phillies what has been missing in his career: Winning

Girardi said that a platoon between outfielders Adam Haseley and Matt Vierling is a possibility. Girardi has previously mentioned Vierling as a front-runner for a center-field role. Vierling is coming off a strong showing in 34 games last season, batting .324/.364/.479 with a 126 OPS+, and has carried that performance into this spring training. In Wednesday’s game against the Blue Jays, Vierling hit two singles, one of which came off his bat at 104.4 mph.

Vierling has played only eight games in center field in the big leagues — Girardi used him as a utility man last season, playing him all over the outfield and infield — but his speed could make him a good fit for that role. According to Baseball Savant, Vierling’s sprint speed ranked within the 95th percentile of all MLB players.

Haseley has parts of three seasons of big-league experience, hitting .264/.322./.373 over 116 games. He has played all of his games in the outfield, with 72 games in center field for his career. He spent the bulk of his collegiate career at the University of Virginia in center (129 games) and the majority of his minor-league career there, as well (156 games).

Extra bases

  1. The Phillies optioned RHP Francisco Morales to minor-league camp on Wednesday.

  2. Girardi said that outfielder/DH Nick Castellanos will get into a Grapefruit League game on Monday vs. Baltimore, likely at DH. Outfielder Kyle Schwarber will get into the field onFriday against the Yankees.

  3. Girardi said that the tentative plan is to have Castellanos see time in both left field and right field this season, to give Bryce Harper and Schwarber some time at DH. He still sees Schwarber as the primary left fielder.