Phillies Notes: Phillies' Delmon Young homers against Toronto's R.A. Dickey

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Five miles away from Bright House Field, Delmon Young made his first exhibition appearance Friday in a Phillies uniform.

Playing at the Toronto Blue Jays' minor-league complex in Dunedin, Young went 1 for 4 with a solo home run against R.A. Dickey, the 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner who was traded by the New York Mets during the offseason.

"It was good to go out there and actually do something outside of batting practice and watch a game for five innings," Young said. "It was different just because it was a Cy Young Award winner and it was a hard knuckleball, too. At least you knew that Dickey was going to compete and be around the plate. It gave me a lot of confidence knowing I didn't have to deal with brushbacks."

In addition to hitting a home run, Young grounded out twice and flied out once. He wasn't expected to run the bases, but decided to do so after the home run, which came in his second at-bat.

"It was a lot of fun," he said. "It took a while."

A scout who witnessed the game said Young definitely was still struggling to run after undergoing November microfracture surgery on his right ankle. Young, who will open the season on the disabled list, said he did not know when he would be able to play in the field.

The construction of the Phillies bench will come to a resolution sooner rather than later because the team must make a decision on infielder Yuniesky Betancourt by Sunday. Betancourt will ask for his release if he is not added to the 25-man roster, his agent said Friday.

"Our preference would be to stay with the Phillies but it's out of our control," Alex Esteban said. "We would definitely be opting out and seeing what's out there."

The Phillies have committed $850,000 to Kevin Frandsen and are enamored of Freddy Galvis' defense. Galvis, however, can be optioned to the minors. Frandsen cannot be optioned. If the Phillies keep both of those infielders, plus a backup catcher, that would leave two bench jobs. One could go to whichever outfielder - John Mayberry Jr. or Laynce Nix - is not starting opening day. Rule 5 draft pick Ender Inciarte is also a consideration.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the roster was far from being completed.

"We can make a trade, we can sign somebody . . . there's a lot of time," he said.

Roy Halladay will start in a minor-league game at 11 a.m. Saturday while the Phillies travel to Sarasota for a Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles. . . . Erik Kratz went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a home run in the 7-6 win over Atlanta Friday. . . . Pitcher Rodrigo Lopez was released and outfielder Jermaine Mitchell was reassigned to minor-league camp.