Nearly a decade after being drafted in the second round and 6½ years after signing one of the most unusual contract extensions in baseball history, Scott Kingery's time with the Phillies came to an end Friday.
Kingery, now 30 years old, was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations.
The Phillies once had high hopes for Kingery as a long-term table-setter and middle infielder. Spending 2017 at Double A and Triple A, he hit .304 with an .889 OPS and the Phillies were impressed enough to sign him to a six-year, $24 million extension just before the next Opening Day.
At the time, Kingery was only the second player ever to sign a multi-year contract extension before stepping foot in the majors. Houston's Jon Singleton, a one-time Phillies prospect traded for Hunter Pence, was the other.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Kingery was one of the top prospects in baseball when the Phillies extended him but his success didn't translate to the majors. He had some big moments in his first two weeks as a Phillie, driving in 12 runs in 13 games with seven doubles and two homers, but he hit .219 the rest of the way.
His best season was 2019 — .258/.315/.474 with 34 doubles and 19 homers in exactly 500 plate appearances — but it was all downhill from there. Kingery's growth was probably stunted, at least partially, by having to play so many positions. He did it in college but it's a different speed. Kingery came up through the minor leagues with the Phillies playing mostly second base, but in the majors he started 119 games at shortstop as a rookie, then had double-digit appearances in Year 2 in center field, left field and at third base, shortstop and second base.
It was a ton of on-the-job training. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe it was too much.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Kingery's final stint with regular playing time in the big leagues was the shortened 2020 season. From 2020-22, he hit .144 in 143 plate appearances with the Phils then spent the entirety of 2023 and 2024 with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Kingery had a good year at Triple A, hitting .268 with 25 homers and .804 OPS.
With the Angels, he'll have an actual path back to the majors if he performs. They're as devoid of talent and depth as any team in baseball and spent most of 2024 giving playing time to reclamation projects just like Kingery.
