PHILADELPHIA -- Last October, center fielder Johan Rojas started all 13 games of the postseason.

The Phillies loved his defense. They thought they could live with his offense.

Rojas batted .093 (4-for-43) with one walk and 15 strikeouts in that stretch, testing even the most defensive-minded baseball lifers. There were cries for manager Rob Thomson to try somebody else in center as the team blew a 2-0 lead to Arizona in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series. But Rojas stayed there, in part because the Phillies lacked options. They could’ve started Cristian Pache, but it felt like splitting hairs. Pache is a career .181 hitter, including the postseason, and not as defensively elite as Rojas. They could’ve moved Brandon Marsh from left to center and started Jake Cave in left, but that would’ve made sense maybe only against right-handed pitchers.

• Postseason FAQ: What’s next for Phillies?

Rojas’ struggles didn’t cost the Phillies the NLCS, but they sure didn’t help as other hitters struggled.

This shouldn’t be as much of an issue this fall as the Phillies open the postseason with Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia has a better bench now, and more options to take advantage of platoon splits in left and center field, and possibly even at second base, with Bryson Stott and Edmundo Sosa.

“We can go either way, right?” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said about the team’s outfield alignment. “If you play Rojas in center, you’re playing defense at that point. And even though Marsh is fine in center, Rojas is an elite center fielder. I would look at it more from an offensive and defensive perspective. We’ll make the decision on what’s best for us. I think that’s the good part of it. It’ll give you different alternatives.”

• Phillies announce ticket opportunity for potential playoff home games

Who Philadelphia starts in left and center field will not only depend on the other team's starting pitcher (lefty vs. righty) but the Phillies' (ground-ball pitcher vs. fly ball).

“I don’t what the formula is, but those are both things that we look at,” Thomson said. “Trying to make sure if we’ve got a fly-ball pitcher on the mound, if it’s the right time to do it, is Rojas the right guy? Is he going to make up for whatever offense we lose? Is he going to make up for it on the defensive side? If that outweighs the offensive side, then he’s going to play.”

At least this year, Thomson has better options to pinch-hit, and maybe even start, if the club wants to try somebody other than Marsh, Rojas and Austin Hays, who will see time in left. Nick Castellanos, of course, has right field locked down.

(Thomson only pinch-hit twice for Rojas last postseason: once with Cave and once with Pache.)

Consider the OPS splits of the Phillies’ potential outfielders:

• Kody Clemens: .689 vs. RHP, .783 vs. LHP (21 plate appearances vs. lefties)
• Hays: .569 vs. RHP, .946 vs. LHP (90 PA)
• Marsh: .792 vs. RHP, .552 vs. LHP (90 PA)
• Rojas: .633 vs. RHP, .526 vs. LHP (106 PA)
• Cal Stevenson: .769 vs. RHP, .000 OPS vs. LHP (2 PA)
• Weston Wilson: .640 vs. RHP, 1.025 vs. LHP (51 PA)

Of that group, five are expected to make the NLDS roster, assuming the Phillies carry 14 position players.

The last spot could come down to Wilson or Stevenson.

Hays is a lock to start in left against lefties, but righties are another question. His 373-point OPS gap between righties and lefties is the fourth-largest in MLB this season (minimum 150 plate appearances), behind San Francisco's Heliot Ramos (516 points), Boston's Tyler O’Neill (486 points) and Atlanta's Adam Duvall (373 points).

“I think he could potentially play every day, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said of Hays, who has missed time with the Phillies with a kidney infection, a left hamstring strain and a sore back. “His bat speed is back. His strength is back. He said he felt good running today. That’s the first time in a few days that he’s felt that. If he’s swinging the bat the way we know he can … he’s a guy.”

Philadelphia has other guys, too. This allows Thomson to be more aggressive during games and makes him more comfortable with putting somebody else out there to start a game.