Bryce Harper’s return to Phillies means it’s back to full-time outfield duty for Kyle Schwarber

LOS ANGELES — Kyle Schwarber pulled a brace over his right knee before batting practice a few weeks ago. It was nothing, he insisted then. Just a proactive measure to lessen the wear and tear of a long season.

But Schwarber also was the designated hitter in 18 of the Phillies’ first 30 games, an option that won’t be available again for a while.

There’s a domino effect to Bryce Harper’s return from Tommy John surgery. One involves moving outfielder Jake Cave off the active roster. Cave was optioned Tuesday to triple-A Lehigh Valley after batting .222/.286/.333 with one homer in 70 plate appearances.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper is back. How long will it take for him to hit like Bryce Harper?

But the biggest offshoot of Harper’s warp-speed comeback will involve Schwarber, who will be pressed into near-daily action in left field. He has played left field on back-to-back days only twice so far this season, both coming within the last week.

”I think being able to get those days and let me get to where I need to be, health-wise, was definitely important,” Schwarber said before the Phillies continued their three-game series at Dodger Stadium. “It was nice to have. But now it’s going to be strictly go out there and play left field. We all kind of knew this coming into it.”

Maybe just not so quickly. Harper made it back in 160 days, 2½ months sooner than initially expected.

”I’m happy it’s this quick,” Schwarber said. “Definitely happy.”

Schwarber hasn’t moved especially well in the outfield or on the bases. He attributed it to the accumulation of playing more innings in left field last year (1,167) than any season in his career.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson also chalked it up to the World Baseball Classic, where Schwarber primarily was a DH for Team USA. Without his usual volume of reps in the outfield in spring training, the Phillies wanted to ease Schwarber back, according to Thomson, especially because they had the luxury of rotating him through the DH spot.

But it will be several more weeks, if not longer, before Harper is cleared to play defense in a game. Even when that happens, he may return at first base, where he has been working out. The Phillies seem to prefer to move Alec Bohm back to third base and use Harper at first rather than putting Harper back in the outfield to ease the strain on Schwarber.

» READ MORE: What’s the optimal Phillies batting order with Bryce Harper back?

Regardless, Schwarber’s return to full-time outfield duty carves out a potentially important role for Dalton Guthrie. With slick-fielding outfielder Cristian Pache sidelined for up to six weeks after surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus, Guthrie becomes the top choice as a late-inning defensive replacement for Schwarber.

Harper’s comeback also prompted Schwarber’s return to the top of the order. Schwarber hit 38 of his league-leading 46 homers last season out of the leadoff spot. But with the addition of Trea Turner and the early-season emergence of Bryson Stott, Thomson put Schwarber in the No. 3 spot, which was reclaimed by Harper.

Through 30 games sans Harper, Schwarber led the Phillies with seven homers but batted .208 with a .339 on-base percentage. Thomson could’ve chosen to keep Stott in the leadoff spot and bump Schwarber to No. 5. Instead, he did the opposite.

”I bounced back and forth about 100 times between them,” Thomson said. “But at the end of the day, I just figured it was a formula for us last year. Schwarbs had his most success here hitting in the first or second spot, and I think Stott will perform in the middle because he makes contact. We’ll go with it for now and see how it goes.”

Said Schwarber: “It’s a pretty familiar place for me. Bryson was doing a hell of a job up there. But it’s one of those things where we’re going to go with whatever’s written up there.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper will return to the Phillies’ lineup on Tuesday. Is it too soon?

Ranger Suárez threw only 27 pitches in a minor league start for Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

Blame it on the rain.

Making his second start in his attempt to come back from a spring-training elbow strain, Suárez gave up one walk and struck out a batter, but didn’t come back out after a rain delay in Syracuse, N.Y. He continued throwing in the bullpen and finished with a total of 54 pitches.

Thomson said Suárez will make at least one more rehab start before rejoining the Phillies’ rotation.

» READ MORE: Can AI pitching technology help Bryce Harper return to the Phillies even sooner?

Right-hander Nick Nelson (hamstring) allowed one unearned run in five walk-free innings for double-A Reading on Tuesday. The Phillies are stretching him out as a starter. … Reliever Andrew Bellatti (triceps tendinitis) faced live hitters and will begin a minor league assignment Friday at low-A Clearwater. ... Through Monday, the Phillies had a .989 fielding percentage, third in the NL behind the Padres (.994) and Diamondbacks (.992). ... Aaron Nola (2-2, 4.46 ERA) will start the matinee series finale at 4:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Dodgers are expected to call up right-hander Gavin Stone to make his major league debut.