Odúbel David Herrera Jr. (/oʊˈduːbʌl ɛərˈɛərə/ oh-DOO-bull air-RAIR-uh;[1] born December 29, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent.

Herrera grew up in Zulia, Venezuela, receiving the nickname "El Torito" (the little bull) from his father as a young baseball player.

Herrera spent the next several seasons rising through the Rangers' farm system, including back-to-back Texas League Midseason All-Star honors in 2013 and 2014.

Herrera's first three seasons with the Phillies were marked by a strong offensive performance, including an All-Star selection in 2016, but he frequently clashed with manager Pete Mackanin in disagreements over base running.

Mackanin repeatedly benched Herrera mid-game in the 2016 and 2017 seasons for a perceived lack of hustle, as well as ignoring coaches' signals on the base path.

[16] General manager Rubén Amaro, Jr. described Herrera as a player who "fits the bill of what we were trying to do", as the team looked to emphasize youth and athleticism going into the 2015 season.

[18] Revere's defensive underperformance in spring training, as well as an injury to Domonic Brown, led Herrera to making the Phillies' opening day lineup in center field.

[21] On May 12, after striking out 14 times in his last 24 at bats, Herrera hit his first career home run off of closer Mark Melancon in the Phillies' 4–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

[22] On July 25, Herrera made two late-inning diving catches to preserve Cole Hamels' no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs: once in the eighth inning against catcher David Ross, and again in the ninth, against third baseman Kris Bryant.

[23] Herrera also came within one game of tying Bryant's 14-game hitting streak, the longest of any National League (NL) rookie in 2015, before he went 0-for-4 in a 13–1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

[24] At the end of the year, the Phillies nominated Herrera for the Hank Aaron Award, given by fans and Hall of Fame members to the best offensive performer in each League.

[29] In addition to his All-Star selection, Herrera was a finalist for the 2016 National League Gold Glove Award after registering 11 outfield assists and leading the team with 4.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

Herrera helped to ignite a winning streak at the start of June, joining Bobby Abreu and Heinie Sand as the third Phillies slugger to double in six consecutive games.

This came to a head at the end of June, when Herrera ignored third base coach Juan Samuel's stop sign and was caught stealing while representing the potential game-winning run against the Diamondbacks.

[33] Mackanin, as well as Phillies teammates Freddy Galvis and Cameron Rupp, both criticized Herrera's lack of concentration and energy, and he was benched again at the end of July for failing to run out a dropped third strike in a game against the Houston Astros.

[34] Despite these frustrations, Herrera continued to dominate the team offensively, boosting his .256 average in the first half of the season to .383 in the month after the All-Star break and accumulating 36 doubles by August 18.

Andrew McCutchen was guaranteed to start in left field, leaving Herrera, Quinn, Nick Williams, and Aaron Altherr to battle for the remaining two positions.

[40] Herrera was ultimately named the Phillies' starting center fielder, with Quinn on the injured list, Williams and Altherr on the bench, and new acquisition Bryce Harper in right field.

[45] The Phillies' outfield presence had been bolstered by Adam Haseley and Jay Bruce, and general manager Matt Klentak cited the fact that Herrera "wasn't very good for the first couple months last year" as a reason to remove him from the roster.

[47] The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of both spring training and the 2020 Minor League Baseball season, preventing Herrera from playing that summer.

[49] The Phillies invited Herrera to spring training in 2021, but he was ultimately optioned to an alternate site in Lehigh Valley, allowing Adam Haseley the starting center field job.

[57] On August 2, 2022, Herrera was designated for assignment after batting .238/.279/.378 with 5 home runs in 62 games, and having the slowest sprint speed of all major league center fielders, at 26.9 feet/second.

Herrera, a left-handed batter, takes a wide stance at the plate and angles his right leg towards first base, a technique that he developed when Venezuelan pitchers would pitch inside.

[66] That discipline in batting has not consistently translated to baserunning, and Herrera has been criticized by Phillies management for ignoring coaches' signals and not hustling to beat out throws.

[67] The practice has been mocked by members of opposing teams, such as one instance in which Herrera flipped his bat for what ended up being a fly out to center field against the Astros.

[70] When he first joined the Phillies, Herrera, a native Spanish speaker, had limited experience with English, and he learned the language by listening to and practicing conversations with teammates.

[72] On May 27, 2019, following reports of a domestic violence incident at the Golden Nugget Atlantic City hotel and casino in New Jersey, Herrera was arrested and charged with simple assault.

[75] Although the reported victim, Melany Martinez-Angulo, ultimately dropped the charges against Herrera,[76] MLB suspended him for the remainder of the season for violations of the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.