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Scott Kingery

Angels Designate Tim Anderson For Assignment

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The Angels announced a series of roster moves today. They have selected the contract of infielder Scott Kingery and reinstated right-hander Robert Stephenson from the 60-day injured list. To make room for those two on the active roster, left-hander Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and infielder Tim Anderson has been designated for assignment. To open another 40-man spot, catcher Chuckie Robinson has been designated for assignment.

Anderson, 32 next month, signed a minor league deal with the Angels in the offseason. A former All-Star and batting champion, Anderson’s production tailed off in 2023 and 2024, which is why he had to settle for a minor league pact. Injuries to infielders like Zach Neto, Anthony Rendon and Yoán Moncada opened a path for him to crack the roster but he hasn’t done much with the opportunity.

Across 31 games, Anderson stepped to the plate 90 times for the Halos. His 3.3% walk rate was very low but that’s always been his style. Unfortunately, his 32.2% strikeout rate was way above both his personal track record and the league average. He had only three extra-base hits, which were all doubles. It all added up to a .205/.258/.241 line and 42 wRC+.

As mentioned, Anderson was once an All-Star and batting champion. He slashed .318/.347/.473 for a 123 wRC+ from 2019 through 2022. But from the start of 2023 to the present, he has 855 plate appearances with a .232/.269/.270 line and 49 wRC+. With other players getting healthy and/or performing better than Anderson, he’s been squeezed off the roster. He will likely be placed on waivers in the coming days but probably won’t find much interest, given his ongoing struggles. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.

His playing time will seemingly be going to Kingery, who was acquired from the Phillies in the offseason but then outrighted off the 40-man. He has been excelling at Triple-A Salt Lake this year, with a .373/.418/.578 line, though those numbers need to be taken with some grains from that lake. The Bees play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and Kingery also has a massive .433 batting average on balls in play that he won’t be able to sustain.

Still, it’s understandable to consider him a better bet than Anderson. Kingery’s major league track record isn’t strong but he had a solid .268/.316/.488 slash and 103 wRC+ for the Phillies’ Triple-A club last year. He also stole 25 bases while playing second base, shortstop and center field. Given how bad Anderson has been struggling, Kingery doesn’t need to be a star to be an upgrade.

The return of Stephenson is a notable moment for the Angels. They signed him to a three-year, $33MM deal going into 2024 but he still hasn’t made his team debut. Some elbow issues plagued him at the start of last year and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery at the end of April. He has been rehabbing from that procedure for just over a year now.

His track record is mixed, with a 4.64 earned run average in his career, but the Angels made a bet that he had broken out just prior to the signing. A former first-round pick and top prospect, he couldn’t stick in a rotation and eventually moved to a relief role. He occasionally showed flashes of promise there before putting together an elite run in 2023.

He started that year with the Pirates and had an uninspiring 5.14 ERA when he was traded to the Rays. With Tampa, he reeled off 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 42.9% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. In short, he was one of the best relievers on the planet for a few months.

The Angels haven’t yet received any return on their investment but Stephenson’s return could be a massive boost, as their bullpen is one of the worst in the league. Their relievers have a collective 6.31 ERA, dead last in the majors, slightly behind Washington’s 6.22 mark. Even if Stephenson doesn’t fully return to his dominant form from the second half of 2023, he should be a nice upgrade to the group. Kenley Jansen will perhaps continue in the closer’s role but Stephenson should be in line for meaningful innings one way or another.

Robinson, 30, was acquired from the White Sox in the offseason. He has been serving as Triple-A depth so far this season, hitting .272/.315/.388 for the Bees. He’ll head into DFA limbo alongside Anderson. He still has options and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of catching depth. He generally hasn’t hit much but has a decent defensive reputation. The Angels are now down to just two catchers on their 40-man roster in Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Angels Outright Scott Kingery

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The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted infielder Scott Kingery to Triple-A Salt Lake earlier today. Kingery had been designated for assignment earlier this week when the club acquired southpaw Angel Perdomo from Atlanta.

Kingery, 31 next month, was a second-round pick by the Phillies back in 2015. The infielder signed a six-year, $24MM contract with Philadelphia before even making his MLB debut and went on to struggle badly throughout his time in the majors with the club. Kingery’s rookie season in 2018 saw him hit just .226/.267/.338 in 484 trips to the plate, and while he took a major step forward with a .258/.315/.474 (100 wRC+) slash line across 500 plate appearances in 2019 en route to a 2.1 fWAR/2.7 bWAR season, that success as a league average contributor did not last. The 2020 campaign saw Kingery hit just .159/.228/.283, and he’s taken just 19 trips to the plate in the majors since then.

Despite Kingery’s failures at the big league level, the Angels brought him into the fold and gave him a spot on their 40-man roster this winter in hopes of creating some depth on the infield. J.D. Davis, Kevin Newman, and Tim Anderson all jumped head of Kingery on the Anaheim depth chart throughout Spring Training, however, and Kingery eventually found himself on the outside looking in with regards to the Opening Day roster mix. That led the club to designate him for assignment, and now that he’s cleared waivers he’ll serve as non-roster depth for the club at the Triple-A level.

While Kingery’s struggled in the majors so far, he’s still a worthwhile depth piece for a club littered with players who struggle to stay healthy like the Angels. Kingery spent most of his time in the majors at shortstop and in center field, but has the versatility to play virtually anywhere on the diamond except for catcher with significant experience at both second and third base as well. He also showed flashes of improvement at the Triple-A level last year, crushing the ball to the tune of a .268/.316/.488 slash line in 125 games while swiping 25 bases.

Kingery’s speed and versatility seem likely to make him a viable depth option off the bench for the club should injuries clear room on the roster for him at some point, and it’s at least possible that his surge of success with the bat at Triple-A last year could translate to modestly improved production in the majors as well. If a spot opens up in the majors, Kingery will likely compete with Kyren Paris and Carter Kieboom for the opportunity to fill in.

Angels Acquire Angel Perdomo, Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment

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The Angels announced they’ve acquired lefty reliever Angel Perdomo from the Braves for cash or a player to be named later. The Halos designated infielder Scott Kingery for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Perdomo had not previously been DFA, so this drops Atlanta’s roster count to 39.

Perdomo spent more than a year with Atlanta but never threw a regular season pitch for them. The 6’8″ southpaw was a member of the Pirates when he underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2023 season. Pittsburgh waived him at the end of that year. Atlanta claimed him, non-tendered him, then brought him back on a fresh major league deal. They kept him on the 60-day injured list for all of last season to see whether he warranted a spot in their bullpen once he returned to health.

The 30-year-old Perdomo has gotten back on the mound this spring. He has made seven appearances, working 7 1/3 frames of two-run ball. Perdomo has issued four walks while recording six strikeouts. The Braves evidently didn’t see enough in that small sample to carry him as a third left-hander behind Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee. Perdomo is out of minor league options, so the Braves couldn’t send him to Triple-A without running him through waivers.

That the Angels jumped the line via trade suggests Perdomo would not have cleared waivers. The Halos will also need to carry him in the MLB bullpen or make him available to other teams. They’ll very likely move on from one or two left-handers by Opening Day. The Angels now have five lefty relievers whom they can’t send to the minors.

Brock Burke, José Quijada, José Suarez and Perdomo are all out of options. Rule 5 pick Garrett McDaniels needs to stick on the roster or be waived and offered back to the Dodgers. Burke will make the team and McDaniels is pitching fairly well this spring. Suárez and Quijada seemed like bubble candidates to stick on the roster all offseason. Neither has pitched well this spring. Quijada has been blitzed for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. Suárez has surrendered a trio of homers across 7 2/3 frames.

Perdomo has pitched in parts of three big league seasons. His best work came with Pittsburgh two years ago. He turned in a 3.72 ERA while striking out almost 38% of opposing hitters in 29 innings. His fastball averaged 94 MPH before the Tommy John procedure. Perdomo is playing on a pre-arbitration salary and is under club control for four seasons. He’d be an affordable bullpen piece if he sticks on the roster.

Kingery, a one-time top prospect with the Phillies, has played one major league game in the last three years. Philadelphia had kept him in Triple-A after outrighting him off their 40-man roster. They traded him to the Angels at the start of the offseason. The Halos added him to the roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. Kingery was coming off a .268/.316/.488 showing in Triple-A that led the Angels to get a look at him in camp.

The 30-year-old needed a strong showing in Spring Training to secure a spot on Ron Washington’s bench. He’s hitting .138 with 11 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances this spring. That pushed him off the roster and is likely to land him on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Kingery would have the right to elect free agency because he has more than three years of service time. Doing that would mean forfeiting his $770K arbitration salary, so there’s a decent chance he’d accept an outright assignment and head back to Triple-A.

Angels, Scott Kingery Avoid Arbitration

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Nov. 15: Kingery will earn $770K this season, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register — just $10K north of the league minimum.

Nov. 14: The Angels reached agreement with Scott Kingery on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (X link). Salary terms have not been reported. Kingery is under arbitration control through the 2027 season.

Kingery just landed with the Halos a few weeks ago. Los Angeles acquired the infielder from the Phillies in a small trade. They added him to their 40-man roster to keep him from hitting minor league free agency. Kingery has more than three years of service time from his stint with the Phils, so he immediately became eligible for arbitration when the Angels put him on the roster. MLBTR did not project a salary for Kingery because he was not on a 40-man at the time of our arbitration projections (courtesy of Matt Swartz). It’d be a surprise if he’s in for a salary much above the league minimum.

In any case, the Arizona product has a clear path back to the majors. Kingery, who signed a $24MM extension before making his debut in 2018, has played in all of one big league game in the last three years. That came as a defensive substitute in 2022. He hasn’t reached 40 games in an MLB season since 2019. Kingery didn’t make much of an impact in Philadelphia, running a .229/.280/.387 line in more than 1100 plate appearances.

The Phillies kept him in Triple-A after outrighting him off the roster. Kingery didn’t have the ability to test minor league free agency without forfeiting the remainder of his extension, which expired last winter. He has essentially spent the last three seasons in the upper minors, turning in roughly league average results. The former second-rounder hit .268/.316/.488 with 25 homers and stolen bases apiece in a hitter-friendly setting this year.

While he came up as a second base prospect, Kingery spent most of this past season at shortstop. He can cover both middle infield spots and move around the outfield. The Angels could be without Zach Neto to begin the season after his recent shoulder procedure. The Halos just signed Kevin Newman as their expected fill-in at shortstop. Kingery can bounce around the diamond in a bench role.

Angels Select Scott Kingery, Release Kenny Rosenberg

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The Angels added recently acquired infielder Scott Kingery to their 40-man roster. The Halos released left-hander Kenny Rosenberg in a corresponding move.

Los Angeles acquired Kingery from Philadelphia over the weekend. They would not have done so if they weren’t planning to add him to the roster, as the infielder would otherwise have reached minor league free agency today. The 30-year-old former top prospect has only appeared in one big league game since 2021. He’s coming off a decent showing with Philadelphia’s top affiliate in Lehigh Valley, hitting .268/.318/.488 with 25 homers and stolen bases apiece.

Rosenberg, a 29-year-old swingman, has pitched in 17 MLB contests across the last three years. He owns a 4.66 earned run average. The Cal State Northridge product had a decent year with Triple-A Salt Lake, working to a 4.21 ERA through 115 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League. He punched out 21.5% of opponents against a tidy 7.8% walk percentage.

Angels Acquire Scott Kingery From Phillies

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The Angels have acquired infielder Scott Kingery from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. Kingery wasn’t on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster and won’t need to take a spot with the Angels.

Kingery, 31 in April, was once a highly-touted prospect. The Phils had enough confidence in his future that they signed him to a long-term extension before he had even made his major league debut. In March of 2018, the Phils gave Kingery a $24MM guarantee covering the 2018-2023 seasons, with three club options as well.

Unfortunately, Kingery wasn’t able to live up to his prospect billing or that contract. He can steal a few bases and and play defense all over the diamond but he simply hasn’t hit enough to be a useful big leaguer. He currently has a batting line of just .229/.280/.387 in 1,127 plate appearances in the majors.

The Phils outrighted him off their roster in both 2021 and 2022, with no club willing to grab the remainder of the contract off waivers. He had surpassed three years of service time and had the right to elect free agency instead of accepting those outright assignments. However, since he was under the five-year service mark, walking away would have involved leaving the remainder of his contract on the table. Naturally, he reported to the minors and continued playing out the rest of his deal. The Phils turned down his ’24 club option but he stayed in the organization at that point as well.

Though the contract was a bust, Kingery just wrapped up a solid season in the minors. He took 505 plate appearances for the IronPigs and hit 25 home runs. The offensive environment in the International League was quite strong this year, so his robust line of .268/.316/.488 was only marginally above league average, translating to a wRC+ of 104.

Kingery stole 25 bases and continued bouncing around the diamond this year, playing second base, shortstop and center field. He has past experience at third base and in the outfield corners.

With those traits, he could perhaps be a useful player even with some semi-competent offense. He hasn’t been able to do that in his major league career so far but it’s a low-risk move for the Angels as Kingery isn’t even taking up a roster spot for now.

The Angels have a few question marks in their position player mix. Luis Rengifo projects as the top second base option but his 2024 was ended by wrist surgery. Even if he comes back healthy, he might need to bounce to other positions. Third baseman Anthony Rendon has been extremely injury-prone in recent years and Rengifo has often had to cover the hot corner. Mike Trout has also missed significant time in center field recently and might get moved to a corner or into the designated hitter spot with more frequency going forward.

Kingery can give them some extra minor league depth all over the diamond. He will try to earn a roster spot and the opportunity for a post-hype breakout.

Phillies Decline Option On Scott Kingery

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TODAY: Kingery is still part of the Phillies organization despite the declined option, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber.  Kingery is still under team control on the initial minor league contract that he signed after he was first drafted, though it remains to be seen whether or not the Phillies might release him.

NOVEMBER 3: The Phillies announced they’ve declined their option on second baseman Scott Kingery. He’ll collect a $1MM buyout in lieu of a $13MM salary.

This was the most straightforward option call for any team this fall. Kingery spent the entire 2023 season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley after being outrighted from the 40-man roster in June 2022. He has played in only 16 MLB games since the start of the ’21 season.

A former second-round draftee, Kingery developed into a highly-regarded prospect. He signed a $24MM guarantee in Spring Training of 2018, shortly before making his MLB debut. The deal didn’t work at all for Philadelphia, as Kingery hasn’t consistently hit at the highest level. He owns a .229/.280/.387 line over 325 big league contests.

The Arizona product hit .244/.325/.400 in 466 plate appearances with Lehigh Valley this past season. He stole 24 bases and hit 13 home runs while striking out at a lofty 29% clip. He’s a free agent for the first time in his career. It’s possible he finds a minor league deal elsewhere. Kingery turns 30 in April.

Phillies Interested In Right-Handed Hitting Outfielders

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With just over a week until Opening Day, the bench group in Philadelphia is beginning to come into focus. As discussed by The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, the Phillies view each of backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, and utilitymen Edmundo Sosa and Josh Harrison as locks to make the roster. With Bryce Harper slated to begin the season on the injured list as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery, the Phillies have no set, everyday DH, leaving them with effectively five seats on the bench. With three locked in, two spots remain available for the Phillies to fill.

Gelb notes that the Phillies are interested in acquiring a right-handed fourth outfielder to complement the starting outfield trio of Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos, but there are plenty of internal candidates also capable of securing one of the remaining bench jobs: utilitymen Scott Kingery, Dalton Guthrie, and Kody Clemens are joined by outfielder Jake Cave and first baseman Darick Hall in the hunt for a spot on the Philadelphia bench to open the season.

All five players have relatively secure spots in the organization headed into the season: Guthrie, Clemens, Cave, and Hall all are on the 40-man roster with minor league options remaining, while Kingery is not on the 40-man roster but is set to remain in the organization during the final year of his ill-fated six-year, $24MM extension he signed with the Phillies ahead of the 2018 season, before he had taken a big league at-bat. Without fear of losing any of these players by not dedicating an Opening Day roster spot to them, the Phillies have plenty of flexibility in making their final decisions about which players to roster.

Looking at external options, the best right-handed fourth outfield option remaining unsigned is likely Albert Almora. Almora played in 64 games for the Reds in 2022 with solid defense at each of the three outfield spots, but struggled at the plate as he slashed just .223/.282/.349 in 235 plate appearances, good for just a 71 wRC+. That seems to be about in line with what a club should expect from Almora should they sign him for this season, given his career 80 wRC+ drops to 71 when looking at his performance since the start of the 2018 season.

While the pickings are currently slim on the free agent market, it remains possible that a player squeezed off their current club’s roster could be made available either by trade or by opting-out of their current minor-league pact and returning to the free agent market. Jake Marisnick, Monte Harrison, and Michael Hermosillo are among the numerous players around the league for whom that is a possibility as Spring Training draws toward a conclusion.

If the Philies are unable to find anyone outside of the organization to their liking, both Kingery and Guthrie are right-handed hitters with experience at all three outfield spots. Kingery has had a better spring to this point that Guthrie, as the former has raked to a .394/.459/.515 line this spring that far outshines Guthrie’s .250/.273/.375 line. With that being said, Guthrie has advantages of his own. As previously mentioned, he already has a 40-man roster spot, while Kingery would require a corresponding move to roster. Additionally, Guthrie raked in his first taste of big league action last season, posting a whopping 184 wRC+ in his fourteen-game cup of coffee that earned him a spot on the postseason roster during Philadelphia’s NL championship run.

It’s also worth noting that Kingery has largely struggled in his major league opportunities to this point in his career, with his already mediocre 73 wRC+ in 325 career games mostly buoyed by a 2019 season where he was league average at the plate (100 wRC+) in 500 plate appearances. Since then, Kingery has posted a brutal wRC+ of just 21, indicating he’s been 79% worse than league average at the plate in 52 big league games since the start of the 2020 season. Given his long-lasting struggles, it would be understandable if the Phillies were hesitant to trust his torrid spring.

Assuming the Phillies would like another left-handed bat on the bench in addition to Stubbs, the spot that doesn’t go to one of Kingery, Guthrie, or an external fourth outfielder would likely go to one of Hall, Clemens, or Cave. All three have raked in Grapefruit League play, but one separator could be that Clemens has by far the most positional flexibility of the three. Cave is confined to the outfield while Hall is limited to first base and the DH slot while Clemens has experience in the four corner spots and at second base, though Gelb indicates that the Phillies don’t see Clemens as a factor at the keystone.

That being said, Cave has the advantage of a long track record of major league experience, with 335 big league games under his belt to this point and a career wRC+ of 92, though he posted just an 81 in 54 games with the Twins last year. While the most defensively limited of the three options, Hall is the most interesting bat of the three, as he posted a 119 wRC+ in 101 Triple-A games last year before carrying that success into the big leagues, where he slashed .250/.282/.550 with a wRC+ of 120. For a team set to start the season without Harper, it’s possible that Hall’s lefty power might be too attractive to pass up, even with his defensive limitations.

While pairing Hall with one of Guthrie or Kingery certainly seems like an attractive option for the Phillies right now, an external addition or injury could certainly change that over the course of the next week or so, to say nothing of the reality that all five internal options seem sure to get major league opportunities at some point this year as the roster churns through the regular season.

Phillies Outright Scott Kingery

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The Phillies announced they’ve sent infielder Scott Kingery outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after he cleared waivers. Philadelphia needed to clear an active roster spot for Zack Wheeler, who’d been on paternity leave. Outrighting Kingery rather than merely optioning him also opens a spot on the 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Philadelphia just selected Kingery to the big league club on Tuesday. He appeared in one game as a defensive replacement but didn’t tally an at-bat before losing his roster spot. Bryson Stott and Didi Gregorius started all three games in the middle infield positions, and it seems the Phils are comfortable with Matt Vierling as a utility option while Johan Camargo is on the injured list.

Kingery has appeared in only 52 MLB games since the start of the 2020 season, hitting .144/.204/.250 in 143 trips to the plate. That’s obviously not the kind of production the organization envisioned from the former top prospect, who at one point looked as if he’d cement himself as their long-term second baseman. Instead, Kingery’s strong offensive numbers from the early part of his minor league career have never really carried over at the big league level.

The Phils signed the University of Arizona product to a six-year, $24MM guarantee shortly before he made his MLB debut. He’s under contract through 2023, making $6.25MM this season and $8.25MM next year. The Phils technically control him through 2026 via a trio of subsequent club options, but it’d take a massive turn of fortune over the next year and a half for the team to consider exercising any of those.

As a player with between three and five years of MLB service time, Kingery technically has the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Doing so would require forfeiting the remainder of the money on his deal, however, so he’ll certainly instead head back to Lehigh Valley. The 28-year-old is hitting .185/.297/.296 across 64 plate appearances with the IronPigs.

Phillies Select Scott Kingery

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The Phillies announced this afternoon they’ve selected infielder Scott Kingery back onto the major league roster. Utilityman Johan Camargo has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 6, due to a right knee strain in a corresponding move. Philadelphia already had an opening on the 40-man roster.

Kingery returns to the majors for the first time since being outrighted off the 40-man last June. The designation for assignment and subsequent outright was the culmination of a few seasons of struggles. Kingery hit at a league average level (.258/.315/.474) during the offensively-charged 2019 campaign, but he’s otherwise struggled mightily at the plate as a big leaguer. He’d posted well below-average numbers as a rookie in 2018, and he’s hit .144/.204/.250 in 143 trips to the plate since his sophomore campaign.

That’s certainly not how the Phillies had envisioned his career progressing. A former second-round pick, Kingery tore through the minor leagues over his first couple seasons of pro ball. Baseball America ranked the University of Arizona product as the game’s #31 prospect in advance of his rookie year, and the Philadelphia front office signed him to a six-year, $24MM guarantee a couple weeks before his major league debut. That investment hasn’t panned out as hoped, but the 28-year-old will get another opportunity to try to solve big league arms.

Kingery, who is making $6.25MM this season under the terms of the aforementioned extension, has gotten off to a rough start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Through 16 games, he’s hitting .185/.297/.296 while striking out in 34.4% of his plate appearances. That kind of swing-and-miss has been an unexpected issue for Kingery since 2018, as he’s never developed into the potential plus hitter some prospect evaluators anticipated. He’ll step into a second base mix that lost Jean Segura for a few months to finger surgery and has seen Nick Maton and Camargo hit the IL in recent days.

Camargo, signed to a one-year deal over the winter, has seen more playing time than envisioned because of Segura’s injury and Bryson Stott’s struggles. He got off to a nice start but had slumped of late, and he lands on the IL owner of a modest .246/.310/.338 line. Stott and Didi Gregorius figure to assume the bulk of the playing time up the middle, with Kingery on hand as a depth option.

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