Some Philadelphia Phillies fans and pundits have said that former second-round pick Scott Kingery should be called up after a miserable July that saw the team lack success at the plate. In 90 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season Kingery has a .275/.326/.526 line with 22 home runs and 55 RBI, along with 18 stolen bases and 106 strikeouts. He also has a .337 BABIP and a 113 wRC+ so far to go with a 7.2% walk rate and a 29.3% strikeout rate. In 19 games in July, Kingery had a .983 OPS and seven home runs. So far, he has continued that success into August, with a 1.212 OPS and one home run in three games. Despite these impressive numbers, there’s no need to call Kingery up to the major league club.
Scott Kingery report in 2024??? pic.twitter.com/MENoDRRiWu
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) August 4, 2024
Kingery also has an interesting contract situation. During the offseason, the Phillies declined the club option on the six-year deal he signed in 2018. However, Kingery was not on the Phillies’ 40-man roster at the time and had not yet reached the major league service time required to become free-agent eligible. This meant the Phillies could still re-sign Kingery on a minor-league contract. Sure enough, they did just that for the 2024 season. Kingery’s future with the organization remains unclear once this season concludes. In all likelihood, the Phillies’ 2015 second-round pick will be playing for a different organization next season.
The Phillies Do Not Need to Call Up Scott Kingery
Lack Of Major League Success
Scott Kingery has played in 325 major league games across five seasons, all with the Phillies. In 1,127 major league plate appearances, he has a .229/.280/.387 line with 30 home runs and 96 RBI. He also has 25 stolen bases in the majors. In addition, Kingery has a .299 BABIP and a 73 wRC+ for his career, along with a 5.9% walk rate and a 28.4% strikeout rate. FanGraphs gives him a -32.5 offensive value in the majors. The last time Kingery appeared in a major league game was in 2022, and he last took an at-bat in the majors in 2021. Between those two seasons, he only made 16 appearances in the majors.
On the other side of things, FanGraphs gives Kingery a -0.5 defensive value in the majors across seven different defensive positions. The two defensive positions he has not played in the majors are catcher and first base. Kingery has primarily played shortstop and center field. At shortstop, he has three Defensive Runs Saved in the majors according to FanGraphs, while in center field Kingery has zero Defensive Runs Saved. At second base, he has -9 Defensive Runs Saved. Those are the three positions Kingery has played in Triple-A this season.
Limited 40-Man Roster Space
There is one factor that those who want the 30-year-old Kingery promoted seem to not consider. That is the lack of available space on the Phillies 40-man roster, on which he currently doesn’t occupy a spot. Currently, there are 39 players on their 40-man roster. However, Dylan Covey is on a rehab assignment, and a return from the 60-day injured list this season is a possibility. Since Covey was on the 40-man roster before going on the 60-day IL, he would regain a spot once activated. It is unclear when Covey will come off the injured list, or even whether that happens at all this season.
While no one would have to be designated for assignment at this time for Kingery to be added to the 40-man roster, it would create problems down the line. It is also worth noting that, despite appearing in the majors earlier this season, Kody Clemens is not currently on the Phillies 40-man roster. There is no mention of Clemens clearing waivers to be removed from the 40-man roster in the team’s transactions log. Seth Johnson, who the Phillies acquired in the Gregory Soto trade with the Baltimore Orioles, took up one of the available spots on the 40-man roster the team had heading into the trade deadline.
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