Philadelphia Phillies: Scott Kingery has officially busted

The Philadelphia Phillies had high hopes for Scott Kingery. He was signed to a six year extension worth $24 million before playing a major league game, with the Phillies adding on three team options worth another $42 million. The expectation was that Kingery would be a key part of the lineup, taking over as their primary shortstop.

Instead, he became more of a utility player, a role that was reinforced when Philadelphia acquired Jean Segura for the 2019 season. Interestingly, he thrived in that role, displaying solid power and speed while producing a 102 OPS+. It seemed that he was ready to take off and fulfill his potential as a Ben Zobrist style of player.

Scott Kingery has gone bust for Philadelphia Phillies

Everything came apart in 2020. Kingery missed time in the second training camp due to COVID and just never found his footing all season. He posted a disappointing .159/.228/.283 batting line in 124 plate appearances, hitting five doubles and three homers. Those struggles could have been explained by his own bout with COVID and the shortened season, but he just did not look right at the plate.

At this point, the Phillies would take his 2020 production. Kingery has been a disaster this season, with one hit in 19 plate appearances, striking out 12 times. The absolute nadir had to come on Sunday, when Kingery started in place of an injured Bryce Harper, whose shoulder injury made it so that he cannot swing the bat.

But Harper ended up in that game anyway. Kingery was 0-3 with three strikeouts before manager Joe Girardi had seen enough. Harper entered the game, and when his place in the lineup came to the plate, he popped up a bunt attempt. However, a player that could not swing the bat was considered preferable to Kingery.

At this point, there is no reason to have Kingery on the Phillies’ bench. While he does have defensive versatility, he is a complete liability in the lineup. Maybe he can figure things out at Triple-A and become a productive player at the major league level again, but even that seems doubtful at this point.

Scott Kingery was supposed to be a part of the Philadelphia Phillies’ future. Instead, his time at the major league level may be running out.