The Phillies have announced that second-base prospect Scott Kingery will make the Opening Day roster this year and has signed a six-year contract.
The shoe has officially dropped in Philadelphia. The Phillies announced that top prospect Scott Kingery will be on the Opening Day roster this season. He will be in the major-leagues in a “hybrid role” as manager Gabe Kapler desired.
In even more of a surprise, they announced that Kingery has signed a six-year contract with the club. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that Kingery will get $24 million guaranteed. There are additional club options for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons, which are worth $13, $14, and $15 million each year, respectively, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. This eliminates the need for any service time issues as Kingery starts his career.
Kingery’s contract is certainly unique. Few players sign extensions before they hit arbitration, and even fewer, if any, sign them before they ever make their major-league debut. This contract may set the stage for other top prospects in baseball.
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This is a major vote of confidence in Kingery. He has not played one game in the major leagues, yet he now holds the longest contract of any Phillie. It is probably a deal similarly structured to Odubel Herrera’s in that he will make around the league minimum the first two years before his annual salary gradually increases.
Kingery wasn’t expected to make the Opening Day roster this season due to the service time loophole.
He was expected to start the year in Triple-A and spend a few weeks there before coming up to the majors. This would allow Kingery to spend an extra year in Philadelphia before becoming a free agent. That is no longer an issue as Kingery is signed through his pre-arbitration and arbitration years with options for his first three years of free agency.
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Kingery has been the darling of spring training the last two years. After a strong spring last year, he followed it up with another this year. He hit .392 with four home runs, three doubles, and a triple along with seven runs batted in and four stolen bases in 20 games. He played all over the diamond as well in the outfield.
This is a bold move for the team considering Kingery has played just 63 games at the Triple-A level. He hit .294 with a .786 OPS and eight home runs in Lehigh Valley last year, but his walk rate was 4.5 percent and his strikeout rate was 20.3 percent. More time in the minors could have been useful, but instead, he will jump to the majors to start the year.
Kingery is expected to be used as a super-utility player this year a la Ben Zobrist. The team has been working him in as many positions as possible this spring. Don’t be surprised if a lot of his time comes at third base as Maikel Franco still showed many of his same flaws this year.
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This announcement also means that only one of Roman Quinn, Pedro Florimon, and Jesmuel Valentin will make the Opening Day roster as one of the bench spots now belongs to Kingery. Florimon is the most versatile of the three, so he may have the edge.