Scott Kingery moved to the Phillies organization after nearly a decade

Scott Kingery traded after nearly a decade in the Phillies organization originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

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 on Friday.

Kingery, now 30, was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for cash.

The Phillies once had high hopes for Kingery as a long-term leader and center fielder. He spent 2017 in Double A and Triple A, hitting .304 with an .889 OPS. The Phillies were so impressed that they gave him a six-year, $24 million extension just before the next Opening Day.

At the time, Kingery became only the second player ever to sign a multi-year contract extension before setting foot in the majors. The other was Houston's Jon Singleton, a former Phillies prospect who was traded for Hunter Pence.

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 with seven doubles and two home runs in 13 games, but he hit .219 the rest of the way.

His best season was 2019 – .258/.315/.474 with 34 doubles and 19 home runs in exactly 500 plate appearances – but it was all downhill from there. Kingery's growth was likely stunted at least in part by having to play so many positions. He did it in college, but it's a different speed. Kingery made it through the minor leagues, with the Phillies playing primarily at second base, but in the majors he started 119 games at shortstop as a rookie and then had double-digit appearances in center field, left field and third base as a sophomore, Shortstop and second base.

It was a lot of on-the-job training. In retrospect, perhaps it was too much.

Kingery's last regular playing appearance in the major leagues was the shortened 2020 season. He hit .144 in 143 plate appearances with the Phils from 2020 to 2022 and then spent all of 2023 and 2024 with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Kingery had a good year at Triple A, hitting .268 with 25 home runs and an .804 OPS.

With the Angels, he will have a real path back to the majors if he performs well. They lack as much talent and depth as any team in baseball, and they spent most of 2024 dedicating playing time to reclamation projects like Kingery.