Reliever Max Lazar spent the summer with the Phillies. Could he get another shot in the majors this year?

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Max Lazar spent three months up with the Phillies this summer, pitching in a multitude of spots in relief. He was used in some higher-leverage opportunities, and he ate up some innings in lopsided games. That’s the life when you’re one of the final arms in the bullpen, and Lazar embraced the role.

Now back at Triple-A Lehigh Valley after being optioned on Aug. 18, the right-hander is making his case to return to a much-improved group of relievers in Philadelphia. He’s thrown four scoreless innings in three outings with the IronPigs since he was sent down.

“It’s tough, but that’s the nature of the business,” Lazar said of being optioned a few days after the transaction. “Guys coming back from injury and that sort of stuff, it’s kind of lurking. So I won’t lie; it is kind of difficult to just focus on the game that day when you know that stuff’s coming up. But you just gotta roll with it.”

Lazar had a 4.78 ERA in 28 appearances with the Phillies this year. Relying more on location than wipeout stuff, the 26-year-old looked sharp at times and uneven at others. He was lit up for six runs on July 30 against the White Sox, ripped off a stretch of five shutout outings and then allowed three runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Nationals on Aug. 17.

Veteran David Robertson had joined the club a week prior and left-hander José Alvarado was set to come off his suspension on Aug. 19, so the Phillies promoted reliever Nolan Hoffman for a day in Lazar’s place ahead of Alvarado’s return.

For Lazar, some of his worse outings tended to “stick in his mind” after he was sent down. But the club let him know that his efforts were appreciated.

“They definitely said I contributed to the team, which is all I was trying to do,” Lazar said. “I’m just trying to help the team, pitch in a variety of roles and whatever they need.”

Over the course of the season, Lazar said he became more adjusted to the schedule of a big-league reliever. He tweaked his repertoire a bit. And now the goal is to make it back up to the majors.

However, there might not be an easy path. Robertson and Alvarado are in the mix. Lefty Tim Mayza was claimed off waivers by the Phillies on Sunday to add depth in the regular season and combat the fact that Alvarado cannot pitch in the postseason. Walker Buehler was signed to a minor-league contract and will join the Phillies as a sixth starter later this month, taking a bullpen spot away when that happens.

That doesn’t mean the roster is impenetrable, by any means. Righties Daniel Robert and Lou Trivino currently occupy the last two big-league bullpen roles, and they’ve been serviceable of late. But if either ends up struggling, the Phillies could always give Lazar another shot with less than a month to go.

After spending a good portion of the season in Philadelphia, he’s hoping for an additional chance in the majors as the Phillies push to secure a postseason berth.

“Obviously, we have a lot of goals as a team up there,” Lazar said. “No. 1 is to win the division. So being able to contribute as much as I did this year, it would be nice to get back and win some more games and win the division and hopefully be there for the playoffs.”