Mark

Budzinski

The 50-year-old Budzinski played in the minors for Cleveland from 1995-2001 and managed in the team’s farm system before getting hired to the Blue Jays’ coaching staff for the 2019 season. He has no such connection with the Mets, not that it should matter much.

Budzinski made his major league debut last season, spending a week with the Reds in August. He could get an invitation to spring training, but he shouldn’t be a real candidate for a bench job on the Phillies.

Budzinski went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts during his time with the Reds.

Budzinski, a minor league veteran who was hitting .277 in Triple-A, isn’t worthy of the major league roster spot. He’ll probably be sent back to the minors once Brandon Larson is eligible to rejoin the Reds this week.

The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Matt Belisle.

Neither starter made it out of the second inning in the contest. Budzinski doubled three times and tripled to drive in nine runs from the leadoff spot. Also notable was that Marlon Byrd hit his first homer since being sent down. For Toledo, both Greg Norton and Joe Vitiello had two-homer games.