Scott Kingery threw out Maikel Garcia trying to steal second in the first inning Monday, a spring training moment in Surprise, Ariz., that briefly flashed the old promise the Cubs infielder once carried through Philadelphia. It was just one play, but it came from a player who has spent almost all of the last three seasons in the minors and is trying to turn a different kind of spring into something lasting.
Kingery, 32 at the end of the month, has played 74 big-league games this decade and has made three pinch-running appearances so far as a Cub. That is a far cry from the surge that made him one of the sport’s more talked-about young players after the Phillies signed him to a six-year, $24 million deal at the end of spring training in 2018. He debuted at 23 with two hits and a stolen base, then followed with a.788 OPS and 19 home runs in 2019. After that came a virulent case of coronavirus in 2020, a Triple-A demotion in 2021 after a rough spring, and season-ending shoulder surgery that also delayed the start of the next season.
The contrast is striking because Kingery was once mentioned alongside former MVP and four-time All-Star Dustin Pedroia, and for a time he was the toast of Philadelphia. Instead, his path has turned into a series of resets, from the minors to a 2024 trade to the Angels, where he played 19 games, and then to Chicago, which signed him as a minor-league free agent last December. Monday’s throw to get Garcia was the sort of sharp play that keeps a veteran like Kingery in the conversation, even if the conversation now is about survival rather than stardom.
That backdrop matters because the game keeps showing how quickly baseball can recalibrate its valuations. Five days into Konnor Griffin’s major-league career, the Pirates committed to a nine-year, $140 million contract, a deal that underscored the sport’s appetite for youth and upside. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has been among those marveling at that kind of rise, saying Kingery was “super talented,” recalling how fast his development moved, and calling young stars like Griffin good for the game. For Kingery, the next step is simpler: keep making plays that justify another look.
