How the Phillies might dole out playing time in an overcrowded outfield in September

MILWAUKEE — The expanded September roster has resulted in an overcrowded Phillies outfield.

But it also might prevent as many fly balls from falling for hits.

The Phillies reinstated lefty Ranger Suárez and reserve outfielder Cristian Pache from the injured list Friday, as expected, as teams were permitted to add two players to the active roster for a maximum of 28 for the final month of the season.

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Suárez missed nearly three weeks with a strained right hamstring. Pache had surgery on July 17 to remove a screw that irritated his right elbow. And Pache’s return, in particular, will provide manager Rob Thomson with intriguing mix-and-match outfield options.

Against right-handed starting pitchers, the Phillies could go with lefty-swinging Brandon Marsh and Jake Cave in center and left field, respectively, as they did in the series opener with the Brewers. Against lefties, they could start righty-hitting Johan Rojas and Pache in those positions.

Is Thomson inclined to run platoons in two outfield spots?

“I wouldn’t say 100% [of the time], but yeah, pretty close,” he said.

It’s all predicated on Bryce Harper’s ability to play first base almost every day. When Harper plays first, Kyle Schwarber becomes the designated hitter, opening up left field. Harper, dogged last month by a stiff back, made his third start in four games at first Friday.

“We’ll go day by day with Harp,” said Thomson, who hinted that Harper would be the DH on Saturday before returning to first base on Sunday, in which case the Phillies could unveil the Rojas-Pache alignment against Brewers lefty Wade Miley. “Just got to talk to [Harper] on a daily basis, see how he’s doing.”

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The Phillies were giving Pache more at-bats before the All-Star break when he underwent surgery. In his absence, Rojas got called up from double-A Reading and saved 11 runs in August to lead the majors, according to Sports Info Solutions. He also batted .289/.330/.402 with seven stolen bases in eight attempts after getting called up.

Rojas and Pache have similar skill sets, notably their elite defense. Entering the weekend, Phillies outfielders were tied for 21st in the majors with six fewer runs saved than average, a rating that was dragged down by Schwarber (minus-18 defensive runs saved).

The expanded roster enables the Phillies to carry Rojas and Pache without much concern for redundancy. They could even configure the outfield to include Rojas, Pache, and Marsh in the late innings, although Thomson said he isn’t inclined to replace right fielder Nick Castellanos for defense.

“Castellanos has played really, really good outfield,” Thomson said. “Maybe you’re getting a little bit of an upgrade, but we’ll try not to overthink that too much.”

After throwing a brief bullpen session, Suárez was cleared to make his return to the rotation Sunday in the series finale.

“He’s good to go,” Thomson said.

For how long? Thomson wouldn’t divulge Suárez’s pitch count for competitive reasons but conceded the lefty will be “shortened up” against the Brewers. Suárez hasn’t pitched since Aug. 13, averaged 92 pitches over his last eight starts, and hasn’t thrown 100 pitches in a game since June 27.

In 17 starts overall, Suárez has a 3.88 ERA in 97⅓ innings.

The Phillies will go with a six-man rotation through the Sept. 11 doubleheader against the Braves. After that, they intend to scale back to five starters, perhaps by using Michael Lorenzen and Cristopher Sánchez in the same game. Both have exceeded their career-high innings totals.

After pitching Sunday and Monday, closer Craig Kimbrel warmed up but didn’t get into Tuesday’s game, a sign that Thomson is more willing to use a reliever three days in a row late in the season.

“Depending on the workload,” Thomson said. “And he’d only thrown seven pitches the day before. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Go. We’re ready.’”

But Kimbrel has given up a total of five runs in his last four outings, including the go-ahead homer in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Angels. The 35-year-old righty is on pace for 72 appearances, which would be his highest total in a season since 2011.

Kimbrel said he feels fine, citing his familiarity with athletic trainer Paul Buchheit from their time together with the Red Sox as a benefit. But the Phillies will also be careful to not overuse Kimbrel in the final month of the season.

“He’s had a heavy workload,” Thomson said.

Having achieved 300 career home runs, Harper’s next milestone is 1,500 hits. He entered the weekend with 1,493. ... Since the Phillies returned Schwarber to the leadoff spot on June 2, they had a 35-9 record when he scored a run entering Friday. ... Radio play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke is slated to return to the booth Saturday after missing one game for personal reasons. ... Aaron Nola (12-8, 4.30 ERA) will start Saturday against Brewers righty Colin Rea (5-5, 5.11).