Odubel Herrera will participate in Spring Training as non-roster invite to Phillies’ mini-camp.

Wednesday, manager Joe Girardi said this about the embattled outfielder, who was charged with simple assault following a domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend two years ago:

Girardi, in part:

“There may be guys that never have open arms. But I would ask that everyone gives him a chance to prove himself. That’s all. He’s got to prove himself to me as well, on a lot of different fronts. But I would ask that everyone gives him the opportunity, because none of us are perfect. We’ve all fallen short, that’s the bottom line. Some things are considered obviously worse than others, I get that, in the eye of the beholder. But none of us are perfect.”

This always seemed like the path the Phillies were going to go with Herrera, whose girlfriend decided not to follow through with charges. Odubel served his 85-game suspension, apologized, went to counseling sessions, and has said and done the right things since the Memorial Day incident of two years ago.

Additionally, he’s owed $10 million this season, and the way the CBA is structured, individual teams are hamstrung when it comes to decisions on further punishment, which is directed by the league. So when you take all of those circumstances and combine them in one amalgamate scenario, this is probably the route that makes the most sense. Odubel is not guaranteed a roster spot, but he’ll have the chance to play in Grapefruit League games as a member of this minicamp roster. He’ll get a shot at competing with Roman Quinn, Adam Haseley, and Scott Kingery for the center field job.