Philadelphia Phillies: The great big Scott Kingery disappointment

Even with the ongoing playoff drought the franchise is suffering, I’m not quite sure anything fits the word “disappointment” in regards to the Philadelphia Phillies more than Scott Kingery. It took me more than a decade of watching Phillies baseball before I saw them reach the postseason. That’s nothing new. With Kingery, my dismay is a little different. I had never seen the franchise put so much faith in a prospect and have it turn against them.

Kingery is far from the first Phillies prospect that has failed to meet expectations. Just ask all of the Wayne Gomes and Wendell Magee Jr. baseball cards sitting in my closet. They’ll tell you.

What makes Kingery different from them is the fact that he received a major league extension before ever stepping foot in an official major league game. It was a risk the Phillies were willing to take after his awesome 2017 season in the minor leagues. Immediately, it became one of the franchise’s most regrettable financial mistakes.

The high hopes the Philadelphia Phillies had for Scott Kingery have gone away for good

So far, Kingery has hit .229/.280/.387 in 1,127 plate appearances in the major leagues. A good portion of these trips to the plate occurred in 2018 and 2019 with 484 and 500 respectively.

His rookie year was abysmal but in 2019, Kingery showed he could be at least a bench piece with some super utility qualities. He batted .258/.315/.474 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI. He continued to play all over the field, going from shortstop as his main position in 2018 to center field in 2019. It was an odd beginning for a player the franchise was ready to keep around for a long time.

There’s no shortage of blame to go around when it comes to the failings on the field. Is it all on Kingery? Do the Phillies deserve some of the blame for not letting him settle in at one defensive spot? What about his coaching? Gabe Kapler was a whipping boy during his time in Philadelphia. Having managed Kingery more than anyone else at the big league level, maybe he had some input into this issue.

It doesn’t really matter who gets the blame. Only Kingery can solve the problem.

Things have only gotten worse for Scott Kingery

The last two seasons have been particularly rough for him. In 2020, he batted .159/.228/.283 in 124 big league at-bats. One reason for the slump was lingering side effects from COVID. His most recent season included only 19 plate appearances and a single hit in them. Multiple injuries limited his playing time at the major and minor league levels. It was the last thing he needed on his resume.

With Kingery, it’s not even the money that raises my flags of disappointment. Unless the Phillies allow his salary to detour them from spending in other places, it’s only a footnote on the story.

Kingery was supposed to be the next Chase Utley. Maybe not built the same, the Phillies anointed him the golden boy of the franchise when they decided to do the unthinkable and reward him for things he had never done before. The bar was raised tremendously for him. If it got any lower, you might have trouble slipping his multi-million dollar paychecks he has coming his way beneath it.

Kingery’s deal is guaranteed through at least two more seasons with an obvious buyout coming his way in 2024 worth only $1 million. It was only last season when the contract went above the $2 million mark so it’s really in 2022 when his production vs. salary begins to really sink.

Combined in the next two years, the Phillies owe Kingery $15.5 million. It’s a lot of dough for a guy probably not meant to play on the big league roster.

The bad investment hasn’t hindered the Phillies greatly. It’s the other moves that have us wondering when we’ll ever see the team in the playoffs again. When we look back at the worst moves of this era of Phillies baseball, the Kingery extension will go down as one of the poorest decisions.