Phillies reassign Scott Kingery to minor-league camp

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Friday morning that infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery has been reassigned to minor-league camp.

Kingery — who continues to recover from season-ending surgery on his torn right labrum last July — hadn’t appeared in any Spring Training games.

Set to turn 28 in April, Kingery will likely open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley whenever he’s ready to play.

Even prior to undergoing shoulder surgery, a 2021 campaign that was supposed to be about resurrecting Kingery’s once-promising career was turning into a lost season. Not only did Kingery have a .159/.229/.295 slash line in 15 games with the Phillies in 2021, but a .181/.307/.292 slash line in 23 games at Triple-A.

Last June, Kingery was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, meaning he’s no longer on the 40-man roster. Nonetheless, the former second-round pick is still owed $6 million in 2022, and $8 million in 2023. He has what once seemed likely to be an affordable $13 million club option for the 2024 season, which would come with a $1 million buyout if the Phillies chose not to exercise it.

Given that they will enter the 2022 season with question marks in center field, at shortstop and at third base, the Phillies would love nothing more than for Kingery to revive his career and return to the majors. This is someone with tremendous positional flexibility that homered 19 times, drove in 55 runs and posted a .788 OPS in 2019. If he’s able to return to anything like the form he showed three seasons ago, it would add onto what already looks like it’s going to be a tremendous lineup.

But at this juncture, this feels like a hope for the best, expect the worst situation for the Phillies. Maybe Kingery will surprise them, but he feels like someone who needs a change of scenery if he’s ever going to rediscover what once made him look like a future franchise cornerstone.

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