Mike Schmidt called Odubel Herrera and apologized Tuesday afternoon after saying earlier in the day that he didn't think the center fielder was the type of player the Philadelphia Phillies could build around.

"My honest answer to that would be no because of a couple of things," Schmidt told SportsRadio 94WIP when asked if the Phillies could build around the Venezuelan-born Herrera. "First of all, it's a language barrier. Because of that, I think he can't be a guy that would sort of sit in a circle with four, five American players and talk about the game. Or try and learn about the game or discuss the inner workings of the game. Or come over to a guy and say, 'Man, you gotta run that ball out.'

"[He] just can't be -- because of the language barrier -- that kind of a player."

Herrera told reporters that Schmidt called him to make sure everything was OK.

"I don't agree with his comments but I respect him as a player," Herrera said through a translator. "I know he's one of the greatest Phillies of all time, but I don't agree with his comments.

"It is disappointing because you never want to hear negative comments, but he called me, he apologized, he explained what happened. So everything is good."