Scott Kingery traded to Angels from Phillies

The Angels acquired infielder and former Top 100 prospect Scott Kingery from the Phillies for cash considerations on Friday.

The 30-year-old spent the 2024 season with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, hitting 25 home runs and registering an .804 OPS while playing mostly at shortstop.

Kingery seemed destined for stardom when he made his Major League debut in 2018, three years after Philadelphia made him a second-round Draft pick. He entered his first big league season as MLB Pipeline’s No. 35 prospect and No. 2 in the Phillies system, and he signed a six-year, $24 million contract a few days before his debut. But he put up just a .226/.267/.338 slash line across 452 at-bats as a rookie.

Kingery was slightly better than league average at the plate in 2019 (101 OPS+) with 19 homers in 458 at-bats, but that would be his last extended look in the Majors with the Phillies.

Injuries hampered him during the shortened 2020 season as he turned in a .511 OPS over 124 at-bats. Kingery went 1-for-19 with 12 strikeouts in 2021 before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in July. He has played only one Major League game since.

Kingery played 65 games in center field in 2019, but he has mostly manned shortstop and second base throughout his career. While he can provide some position flexibility and pop to the Angels, he also still brings a lot of swing-and-miss; Kingery has posted a 28.1% strikeout rate at Triple-A since the beginning of 2023.

Although the guaranteed portion of Kingery’s contract has expired, it contains club options for 2025 and ’26.

This trade comes one day after the Angels made a splashier swap, sending right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning to the Braves for slugger Jorge Soler.