Will Trea Turner continue to bat second when he returns to the Phillies’ lineup?

When the week began, Phillies manager Rob Thomson outlined a plan to sit Trea Turner before or after Thursday’s off-day to give the struggling shortstop two days to clear his head. Unsurprisingly, then, Turner wasn’t in the lineup Wednesday night.

The question now: Will he still bat second Friday in Pittsburgh?

“We’ll talk about it,” Thomson said. “I don’t know.”

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Trea Turner on his disappointing first half: The game has 'kicked my butt'

Turner’s poor first season with the Phillies has been a major talking point. Across the board, his numbers are far below his usual marks. A career .302/.355/.487 hitter coming into the season, he’s batting .245/.297/.384. His defense has slipped, too, with 12 errors and four defensive runs saved below average.

For most of the season, Turner has batted in the No. 2 spot in the Phillies’ order. But since a mini-two-week spurt in which he went 17-for-59 with three homers and an .808 OPS, he’s 11-for-53 with no homers and a .584 OPS in his last 13 games.

There’s precedent for Thomson to drop Turner in the order. He put him down in the No. 5 spot on June 2 and batted him cleanup for seven games before raising him up again.

It seemed to work then. Turner went 8-for-21 in his first five games back in the No. 2 spot.

“You want a conversation with the staff, particularly [hitting coach] Kevin Long, just to make sure that we’re doing the right thing,” Thomson said. “Not only moving a guy down but also moving [another] guy up.”

At this point, though, the Phillies will try anything short of an exorcism — and maybe even that — to kickstart their $300 million shortstop.

Maybe a reunion with Mark DeRosa, the Team USA manager in the World Baseball Classic, would help. Turner, who starred in that tournament in March, caught DeRosa’s ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday night’s game.

» READ MORE: Trea Turner’s struggles in his first season with the Phillies extend to his defense

“Mentally, I feel good,” Turner said. “Just kind of be aggressive, be myself, and kind of forget about all the stuff and everything that happened earlier in the year. I have high expectations for myself.”

Thomson figures a mental break may be good for Turner, who started all but one of the Phillies’ first 101 games.

“Easily that’s a lot of what goes into going into slumps or tough times. Guys just try to do too much,” Thomson said. “Every day, I think he’s going to get back to being who he is. It’s going to happen. I’m sure of it. It’s just a matter of when.”

Edmundo Sosa played shortstop in Turner’s absence. Thomson said he didn’t plan on using Turner in the game except for an “emergency” circumstance.

The Noah Song Saga is nearing a resolution.

Song, the right-hander acquired in the Rule 5 draft last winter, gave up five runs on three hits and three walks in 1⅓ innings of relief Wednesday at triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies must decide by Friday whether to add him to the active roster or put him through waivers — and almost certainly lose him.

Adding to the intrigue: Before this month, Song hadn’t pitched in games since 2019 because he was serving in the Navy.

» READ MORE: Phillies nearing decision on Noah Song, and only one pitcher knows the journey from Navy to the majors

Scouting reports on Song, internally and among other teams, have been mixed, according to multiple sources. One rival evaluator said that his team had concerns about Song’s velocity. Song’s fastball has been mostly 92-94 mph after being in the 96-98 mph range before he left for the Navy.

It would be easier for a noncontending team to stash Song in the bullpen. The Phillies are in the wild-card hunt. Song would likely take the place of long reliever Dylan Covey, who had a 5.68 ERA in 11 appearances through Tuesday.

The Phillies still don’t expect Rhys Hoskins to return from left knee surgery before the end of the regular season. But Thomson noted that the first baseman will swing a bat within the “next week or 10 days.”

“I’m not a doctor,” Thomson said, “but just in my mind, he’s ahead of where I thought he’d be at this time.”

Hoskins has been lightly running and doing short sprints before games, in addition to receiving treatment. Whenever he’s cleared to play, Thomson guessed Hoskins would need two or three weeks of at-bats in the minor leagues or simulated games.

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After center fielder Johan Rojas got three hits and stole two bases in the last two games, Thomson said he considered keeping the rookie in the lineup but decided against it because Orioles starter Kyle Bradish had held right-handed hitters to a .224 average and .624 OPS. “He’s playing pretty well,” Thomson said. “Now, [will he play] regularly? I don’t know how to define that. But he’s going to get playing time while he’s here.” Lefty-swinging Jake Cave started instead. ... Lefty reliever José Alvarado (elbow) long-tossed from 120 feet and is slated to throw from a mound over the weekend. ... Backup outfielder Cristian Pache headed to Clearwater, Fla., to continue his recovery from minor right elbow surgery. He’s about two weeks from returning to play, according to Thomson. ... Don Bitterlich, a member of the Temple Sports Hall of Fame, played the accordion on German Heritage Night. Bitterlich kicked a 27-yard field goal for the first points in Seattle Seahawks history in 1976. ... Zack Wheeler (7-5, 3.88 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night in Pittsburgh against right-hander Mitch Keller (9-6, 4.01).