The MLB offseason has yet to see many big-name moves, with the majority of free agent signings on the smaller side over the first month. One such small signing happened on Tuesday night when former Philadelphia Phillies top prospect Scott Kingery found a new organization for the 2026 season.
As Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported, Kingery agreed to a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs. The contract includes an invitation to spring training for the now 31-year-old utility player.
It's a minor move that won't grab much, if any, national attention. However, it's sure to resonate with Phillies fans who lived through the Kingery craze that engulfed Philadelphia in the late 2010s.
Former Phillies prospect Scott Kingery gets another shot to prove himself with Cubs
In landing with the Cubs, Kingery joins his third organization. The Phillies traded Kingery to the Los Angeles Angels last November. As he heads into his age-32 season, Kingery finds himself with another chance to prove himself. However, the probability of seeing him revive his career with the Cubs remains exceedingly low.
The former second-round draft pick spent the 2025 season bouncing between the Angels and their Triple-A affiliate, even surviving being designated for assignment in August before finally being DFA'd and released in September. In his brief and disappointing 29-plate appearance cameo for the Halos, Kingery slashed just .148/.207/.185 with a 37.9 percent strikeout rate.
It's been a long fall from grace for Kingery, once ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Phillies' No. 2 prospect in 2018. Following a monster minor league season in 2017, he agreed to a six-year, $24 million deal before playing a single game in the majors. Between Double- and Triple-A that season, Kingery had hit .304 with an .889 OPS, with 26 home runs, 65 RBIs, 103 runs scored, and 29 stolen bases.
That minor league success never translated to the majors. After a strong first half in 2018, he finished his first MLB season slashing .226/.267/.338 with eight home runs, 35 RBIs, 55 runs, and 10 stolen bases in 147 games.
Kingery played 126 games in 2019 and showed promise, hitting .258/.315/.474 with 19 home runs and 15 steals, while missing a month with a strained hamstring. But that was as good as it got. He saw action in 36 games in 2020 and 15 in 2021 before finally making just one appearance in 2022 as he faded from the picture in Philadelphia. Overall with the Phillies, Kingery slashed .229/.280/.387 with 30 home runs, 96 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 325 MLB games.
After his trade to Los Angeles last winter, Kingery spoke about how a change in the Phillies' organizational hitting philosophy didn't jibe with the approach that had brought him success and ultimately saw him fall out of the Phillies' plans (subscription required), per Sam Blum of The Athletic.
How will he fare with Chicago? We'll be sure to keep an eye on Scotty Jetpax come spring training to see if he has anything left to offer the Cubs.