ST. PETERSBURG -- Yonny Chirinos won’t be activated for Friday’s game against the Red Sox, but Rays manager Kevin Cash said the right-hander will be returning to the active roster as early as Saturday or Sunday against Boston.

Chirinos’ role, however, remains to be determined. The right-hander has thrown up to 40 pitches in simulated games over the last couple of weeks, but there’s not enough time to build him up as a full starter.

Having him pitch out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever sounds like an option.

“He’ll most likely be available for us out of the bullpen over the next couple of days,” Cash said. “He’s already thrown 40 pitches in a unique setting, but like we told Tyler [Glasnow], and like we told Blake [Snell], it’s going to be dependent on how he performs and how it’s looking.”

Chirinos said Friday that the right middle finger inflammation that sidelined him for over a month is in the past. He’s ready to pitch, no matter the role.

“I feel good,” Chirinos said in Spanish. “I’m truly ready to go and now I’m just waiting to see what happens.”

Aside from Chirinos’ imminent return to the pitching staff, the Rays could also be getting infielder Brandon Lowe (left quad) back from injury. Lowe, however, still has some hurdles to clear and it isn’t guaranteed that he returns this season. But the 24-year-old has been hitting in bullpen sessions against Chirinos and will play in another instructional league game on Saturday. After that, the Rays will re-evaluate Lowe and see what the next step is.

“I want to be back to help the team in any way possible,” Lowe said. “The sooner, the better, in my opinion. But I have to clear stuff with the training staff and the coaches for them to make sure that I look good out there and I’m going to be able to help the team.”

Lowe understands that the decision will come down to the coaching and training staff, but he has put himself in a position to be a possible option for the last few games of the season. Proving that he can run the bases with no risk of injury will be one of the biggest tests for the infielder.

“When I first hurt the quad, I said I wanted to be back as soon as possible,” Lowe said. “I’ve been really busting my butt to get healthy and get in a good position and hopefully it’s not too much longer. But it’s not my decision, so hopefully I can prove to them that I’m ready to go.”

The Rays’ primary focus is to make the postseason for the first time since 2013, but they could be getting closer to full strength when they active Chirinos and if they decide to have Lowe follow him.

“All has gone well with those guys,” Cash said. “It’ll be exciting to get them back when we do.”

Sogard remains sidelined

Eric Sogard continues to nurse a right foot injury and was not in the Rays lineup on Friday. Tampa Bay hoped that an off-day would help the infielder get back on the field, but that wasn’t the case. Sogard underwent more treatment on Friday and Cash hopes to get him back at some point during the weekend.

Playoff odds

With just nine games remaining in the regular season, including Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox, the Rays have a solid chance of making the postseason.

Entering Friday, Baseball-Reference gave the Rays a 43.7 percent chance to be one of the two American League Wild Card teams. FanGraphs was even more generous to Tampa Bay, giving it a 54.9 percent chance of playing in the AL Wild Card Game on Oct. 2.

The Rays entered Friday tied with the Indians for the second AL Wild Card spot, two games behind the A’s for the top spot.

Tampa Bay has the toughest remaining schedule of the three teams, playing six of its final nine games against teams over .500 with a combined 242-217 record. Cleveland plays six of its last nine against winning clubs with an even 227-227 record, while Oakland finishes out its last nine games without playing a team over .500.