The Phillies are set to activate utilityman Scott Kingery from the 10-day injured list, Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets. The club has confirmed Kingery’s activation, adding that it has optioned outfielder Nick Williams to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The Phillies have been without Kingery since he landed on the IL on April 19 with a right hamstring strain. Before that, Kingery looked to be establishing himself in the majors after a rough rookie season in 2018. Along with slashing .406/.457/.719 (208 wRC+) with two home runs in 35 big league plate appearances, the versatile Kingery has seen action at shortstop, third base, second base and in left field this year. He’ll add another position on Sunday – center field – Gelb reports.
The Phillies have gotten next to nothing from center fielder Odubel Herrera or third baseman Maikel Franco this year, so Kingery could potentially see plenty of time at those spots as the season progresses. Despite the struggles of those two starters, the Phillies are 26-19 and leading the National League East by a game and a half over the Braves.
Williams, 25, hasn’t played in the minors since 2017, making his trip to Lehigh Valley particularly notable. Since Williams’ midseason promotion to the majors two years ago, the former top 100 prospect has amassed 856 PA and offered roughly league-average offense (.262/.322/.431 with 30 home runs – good for a 101 wRC+). However, Williams has struggled in the outfield, as shown by his minus-30 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-12 Ultimate Zone Rating, thereby limiting him to replacement-level value. He’s also hitting at a career-worst level this year, with a .180/.231/.262 line (33 wRC+), a single homer and 18 strikeouts against two walks in 65 tries.
Because Williams hasn’t quite panned out since the Phillies acquired him from the Rangers as part of a 2015 trade for Cole Hamels, Philly made other corner outfield arrangements this past offseason. They brought in high-priced free agents Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen to take over for Williams and Aaron Altherr, the latter of whom joined the Giants via waivers last weekend after the Phillies designated him for assignment.
They really should play him over Franco, who has proven to be a bust
Odubel and Franco are so inconsistent I’d love to see Kingery at third and Quinn in center whenever he can play.
Quinn just can’t seem to stay on the field, but I 100% agree with you.
Nick Williams’ numbers would be better if he could play more regularly. Would be a nice platoon piece for somebody.
That might showcase his offensive numbers, but he’ll still be a big liability defensively. He doesn’t hit well enough to overcome that shortcoming and he doesn’t hit well enough to be a full time DH. At best, I think he’s a fourth outfielder for a mediocre team.
Williams deserves an extended period to start with a ML team and I think that he would start to hit well.
…and continue to be among the league’s worst outfield defenders? The offensive numbers would need to be extraordinary to overcome the defensive liabilities.
LF Nick Williams gets some at bats at AAA and probably becomes piece of a trade deadline deal for pitching . He has some potential but needs to get away from Philly. And 3B Franco helped carry the Phillies when they went on their early run. Wouldnt say he has given the Phils next to nothing. Very streaky hitter, defense not great though, limited range.
Yea I found the “next to nothing” statement to be non-representative of Franco’s contributions this year.
Streaky would be more accurate but the overall body of work is underwhelming
Agreed, but as an 8 hitter, it’s not bad. He’s not an ideal third baseman on a contending team, but he can hold it down until there’s a more suitable option. (I prefer Kingery at second, but that’s an issue for another post.)
Franco was doing pretty good from the gate but then the wheels just fell off it seems.
That’s what I was gonna say didn’t he come out red hot?
The fast start was a small sample size. His career mediocrity is not.
What is it with all the hate on Franco all the time? He’s better than Kingery as an option at 3rd and has produced his numbers primarily from the 8 hole in the lineup. He is streaky. but so are a lot of guys. His power and ability to get hot over stretches should not be thrown out of the equation. As i’ve said for over 2 1/2 seasons, He is a decent option at 3rd for the team even more so with the improved lineup this season.
He’s bad. Even with the artificial bump from hitting 8th, he still only has a .300 OBP – pretty much in line with his career.
He doesn’t hit for average. He doesn’t get on base. His power is incredibly inconsistent. He is a below average defender. Where is his value?
7 homers and 28 RBI out of the 8th spot in the line up is hardly “next to nothing”.
Yeah. I thought that was a little harsh on Franco, jeez
Have you been watching Franco play at all this year?Franco was hot to start the year and in the last couple weeks it’s been rough for him, but he is much better than Kingery right now.
not really, unless kingery isn’t half the player he was before he got injured.
with the way Cesar is hitting i would hope Kingery gets a lot more 3B at bats then anything else in the near future.
Lazy article.