PHILADELPHIA — For most of the last five years, the Phillies' bench has consisted of well-defined roles:

The righthanded-hitting reserve outfielder (So Taguchi, Ben Francisco, John Mayberry Jr.).

The lefthanded-hitting corner infielder/outfielder (Greg Dobbs, Ross Gload).

The lefty slugger (Matt Stairs, Jim Thome).

The utility man (Eric Bruntlett, Juan Castro, Wilson Valdez).

And, of course, the backup catcher (Chris Coste, Paul Bako, Brian Schneider).

But as the Phillies descend on Clearwater, Fla., next week, they will do so with a number of players who have the opportunity to dictate the roles they will fill in what is likely to be a lineup that includes several rotations.

Here is what we know so far:

- The Phillies will keep a utility player to go with Kevin Frandsen, who was re-signed in the offseason but who is not viewed as a strong defensive shortstop. Initially, it looked as though that role would be filled by slick-fielding second-year player Freddy Galvis. But the Phillies' recent signing of Yuniesky Betancourt could change things. Keeping the 31-year-old righthanded hitter would allow Galvis to get regular at-bats in the minor leagues.

- Erik Kratz will spend most of the season as the backup catcher, but he is likely to begin the year as the starter while Carlos Ruiz serves a 25-game suspension for testing positive for a banned stimulant. At this point, the likely backup to Kratz would be non-roster invitee Humberto Quintero, although the Phillies are likely looking for another option or two to bring into spring training. Besides Kratz and Ruiz, the only other catcher on the 40-man roster is prospect Sebastian Valle. The only other non-roster invitees at this point who play catcher are prospect Tommy Joseph and veteran minor leaguer Steven Lerud.

- Laynce Nix is likely to be the primary lefthanded bat off the bench, although he could end up getting frequent at-bats in the starting lineup in left or right field. That, of course, depends on what happens with Domonic Brown, Darin Ruf and Mayberry. And that's where things get interesting. Mayberry, who is out of options, is the team's most versatile outfielder and one of the few members of the roster who can play centerfield (another is Rule 5 pick Ender Inciarte). But that would leave the Phillies with only one lefthanded bench bat, as well as room for only one of Ruf or Brown, unless they were willing to go with six bench players and six relievers instead of the usual five bench players and seven relievers.