Minor League Games - Week of September 20-28

[andyb]

I wouldn't completely dismiss Kingery. It seems much of the athleticism is still there. If his defense is seen as good these days (really an unknown for me) then he'll at least compete for a utility role. If the Phillies sign a middle infielder then there is probably not a spot for him. But if they don't, and go with a Maton/Sosa platoon at 2B there is another utility infield spot beyond that and might compete with Guthrie and a couple of lower tier free agents (the minor league kind) for the last spot on the roster.

Guthrie might be Kingery's biggest problem for a roster spot. Right now he does everything Kingery does but better. And is younger with similar speed. We have only seen Guthrie in the OF because that is what the roster needed, but there is no reason to think his infield defense is worse than Kingery's also.

[andyb]

The Ali Castillo show:

️Made a rangy play at 2B
️Hit a double of his own
️Caught a ball at first for the out
️Framed a strike on the outside corner
️Recorded a one-out save on the mound

All in a day's work for @Phillies ' Ali Castillo, who played all nine positions for the @IronPigs . pic.twitter.com/INiRq4RJbd

— Minor League Baseball ( @MiLB ) September 28, 2022

I love it that he actually got the save. Most of the pitching portions of these 9-position outings have them pitching at a less meaningful point in the game.

[Philsmania]

I wouldn't completely dismiss Kingery. It seems much of the athleticism is still there. If his defense is seen as good these days (really an unknown for me) then he'll at least compete for a utility role. If the Phillies sign a middle infielder then there is probably not a spot for him. But if they don't, and go with a Maton/Sosa platoon at 2B there is another utility infield spot beyond that and might compete with Guthrie and a couple of lower tier free agents (the minor league kind) for the last spot on the roster.

Guthrie might be Kingery's biggest problem for a roster spot. Right now he does everything Kingery does but better. And is younger with similar speed. We have only seen Guthrie in the OF because that is what the roster needed, but there is no reason to think his infield defense is worse than Kingery's also.

Aside from possibly setting him and his family up for life financially (if he's not stupid with money), the Phillies did Kingery a tremendous disservice by giving him that contract, putting him the big leagues before he was ready, putting extra pressure on him to succeed and justify that contract and then basically making him a proverbial toxic asset that--barring a release--couldn't be moved to another organization for a change of scenery/new set of eyes on him.

[zambonir]

It was a risk worth taking, but they did it partly for the wrong reasons (as an alternative to letting him earn service time) and then let the contract dictate his playing time. But we'll also never know, had 2020 been normal (no COVID, 162 games) if his health would have become the same issue (or if he would have fixed his swing).

[andyb]

$24 million over 6 years with team friendly options beyond that is a good risk for any team to take. This one just did not work out for various reasons.

They should sign Stott now in the middle of his slump. Price might be more reasonable than what it would be if he puts up a 725 OPS year next year. Of course Stott might not be motivated to sign now because of that potential discount.

[bkeich]

Anyone in their mid-20s that wouldn't sign a contract for $24M is an idiot.

Eliminate all of the risk for the rest of your life and be set no matter what happens (within reason). Maybe you are leaving money in the table, but probably not much. If you become an underpaid superstar, well, you will most likely recoup a lot of it when you finally get to FA T age 30. If not, well, you are set for life and can even live pretty well, just not insanely well.

Yea, sign if offered. No real downside.

[gmwannabe]

phils mistake. they jumped the gun with that hot spring training he had against minor league pitching. way too early. they learned their lesson.
gm

[andyb]

It wasn't really a mistake though. It just did not work out. Keeping him on the major league roster out of spring training was probably a mistake (especially if he was to learn other positions defensively), but signing the contract and making the major league roster are two different things. They could have sent him down for a half year even with the contract.

[zambonir]

The only mistake was that Kingery's salary was part of a luxury tax number that the Phillies were unwilling to exceed. What they actually paid him was not particularly significant compared to total payroll, revenue, franchise value or the owner's personal wealth. You say it didn't work out, move on, and buy your way out of the mistake.

Even the Rays give out contracts like that as way to reduce costs, but when they backfire, they also can't buy their way out. Of course more often than not their guys work out and then get trade in the latter years of deal.

[andyb]

The only mistake was that Kingery's salary was part of a luxury tax number that the Phillies were unwilling to exceed.

That is more of a consequence of his failure than an expense. A $4 million cap hit for a starting 2B was supposed to be a net positive over the course of the contract.

[allentown]

Then we are back to: this was a failure of self-scouting, with too much emphasis placed on a good ST and that putting Kingery on the 25-man with increased pressure. There really was no great rush to give a multi-year contract. They misjudged both Kingery's readiness (he likely should have started in AAA) and his ability. He certainly seemed like a starting MLB 2B, but did he really look like a guy who should be given a multi-year contract prior to his first MLB AB. Was he really a future star-quality player who was ready to be at least an average MLB 2B from day one?