Braves outfield vacancy puts Phillies between rock and hard place amid Trea Turner return

The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to receive good news on Monday: Trea Turner is back. Where Turner plays on the field is up to Philadelphia, as some have suggested putting him in the outfield, though that seems rather unlikely.

Just like any roster move, though, the Phillies will have to make a corresponding decision to either demote a player, or place them on waivers. The easiest -- and perhaps most likely -- choice there would be Johan Rojas, who has underperformed and has little fanfare within the organization. It doesn't help Rojas's cause that several other underperforming players are out of options, and thus would have to clear waivers.

As Matt Gelb of The Athletic wrote in a recent column, the Phillies are disappointed with how Rojas's major-league stint went this time around:

"Rojas is here for his glove, but there’s been disappointment within the organization that Rojas has not better utilized one of his best skills — speed...Many with the Phillies still view Rojas in center field as the club’s best alignment and, with a demotion, they would not be eliminating that from being the solution later this season."

Phillies have no choice but to demote Johan Rojas

While the Phillies front office may be stalling, there's only one right move to make when activating Turner off the injured list. It has to be Rojas, because any other option would have to clear waivers. Given how successful the Phils have been this season, odds are their 25th man could play on most contending teams.

One of those options is Cristian Pache, who will likely rotate from center field to the corners once Rojas is sent down. Pache is out of options, meaning if the Phillies were to try and demote him, he'd have to clear waivers first.

Pache is a former Atlanta Braves top prospect, and due to their current outfield vacancy with injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris II, claiming the current Phillies outfielder would be ideal. Pache is familiar with the Braves clubhouse and has camaraderie with many of the longtime players.

The Phillies can't take that risk, especially for a player they can slide into their outfield platoon once Rojas is demoted and Turner returns.