Inside Rob Thomson’s process to ‘mix and match’ playing time among the Phillies’ five outfielders

NEW YORK — A few days ago, Nick Castellanos stepped into manager Rob Thomson’s office to ask how the playing time would be divided among the Phillies’ outfielders this week against the Mets.

It was a fair question.

For weeks, Thomson has tried to fit five outfielders into three spots while making sure each gets enough at-bats to stay productive. Generally, it has worked. But it also has made playing time less predictable than usual.

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“He just wanted to know what the plan was going forward, and I laid it out for him,” Thomson said of his chat with Castellanos. “It was good.”

The plan is based on “a combination of things,” Thomson said Wednesday. He wants to keep the hottest hitters in the lineup while being mindful of matchups and history against specific pitchers.

And so, although the Phillies faced a righty (Mets rookie Nolan McLean) in the series finale, lefty-swinging Brandon Marsh was out of the lineup in favor of righty-hitting Castellanos and Harrison Bader because Marsh was in a 2-for-20 tailspin.

Related, according to Thomson: Bader was on a 10-for-18 roll, including a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning Tuesday night. And Castellanos is batting .281 against fastballs. McLean throws in the mid-90s.

Mix all of that information together, and it led Thomson to an outfield of Max Kepler, Bader, and Castellanos.

Who knows what the blender will spit out Thursday?

“I’m trying to mix and match and keep everybody in the rhythm and keep them going, you know?” Thomson said. “It’s difficult. It’s difficult to match people up. But so far, so good.”

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Marsh had been the Phillies’ most productive outfielder for several weeks. It was a reversal of early-season struggles in which he didn’t get a hit in April.

But as Marsh searches to regain his swing, Thomson seems intent to ride Bader’s energy, defense, and hot bat. Bader has started five consecutive games and 13 of 20 since being acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline.

“I really like him,” Thomson said. “I like the presence he has about him, just kind of a little bit of swagger. I’m glad he’s here.”

Said Bader: “The thing that I’ve always learned growing up from my dad was just to be emotionless because the ball doesn’t have emotion. Try to just breathe through it and stick to putting a good at-bat together.”

One day after going on the 15-day injured list with what the Phillies characterized as “inflammation of the right middle finger,” reliever Jordan Romano was awaiting tests to determine the cause of the problem.

Romano said he began feeling numbness in his finger only a few days for about four or five hours and that it seemed to subside with treatment from the training staff before he came into Monday night’s game and allowed four runs in the seventh inning.

“It’s not an excuse for a poor outing,” Romano said. “Like, I’ve pitched bad before that, and my grip’s been fine. So, it’s tough to say.”

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Romano was the Phillies’ biggest bullpen addition in the offseason, signing a one-year, $8.5 million contract. But the two-time All-Star closer has endured a nightmarish season, with wild fluctuations in his fastball velocity and an 8.23 ERA in 49 appearances.

A Phillies reliever hasn’t post a higher ERA than Romano in at least 40 innings in a season since Reggie Grabowski (9.23 in 1934).

Thomson suggested the finger problem might have impacted Romano’s grip or contributed to the dips in velocity.

“It’s hard to tell, and I’m trying to figure that out, too,” Romano said. “My last pitch [Monday night] was 97 miles per hour, so it’s frustrating to me, too. Because I know that’s in there. It could be a delivery thing. It could be a health thing. We’ll see how it goes throwing, and hopefully I’ll be consistent again.”

Romano said he expects to pitch again this season. He’s eligible to be reinstated from the injured list on Sept. 10, which would leave 2½ weeks for him to reestablish his place among the Phillies’ top eight relievers for a postseason roster.

But it’s difficult to imagine him factoring into that mix now.

“I just need to need to figure some things out for sure, right?” Romano said. “Obviously the way I was pitching wasn’t great at all. I just need to figure it out and hopefully get back to feeling like my old self.”

Former Phillies closer Billy Wagner, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last month, will throw a ceremonial first pitch before Sunday night’s game at Citizens Bank Park. … The Atlanta Braves are expected to bring ace lefty Chris Sale off the injured list to start Saturday in Philadelphia. Sale has been sidelined since June with a rib cage fracture. … Aaron Nola (2-7, 6.52 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener vs. the Braves at 6:45 p.m. Thursday against righty Cal Quantrill (4-11, 5.51).