Ranking the 10 worst contracts in the National League East

4) Worst contracts in the NL East: Scott Kingery

Back in 2018, the Phillies made a bold decision by signing Scott Kingery to a six-year $24 million dollar deal. He was their second-ranked prospect at the time and was ranked 35th overall according to mlb.com. Kingery was signed before playing in an MLB game.

Following a below-average 2018 season, Kingery had a 101 OPS+ and hit 19 home runs in 2019. The utility man struggled in 2020 and hasn't really gotten another shot. He appeared in 15 games last season, hitting one single in 19 at-bats. He has appeared in one game this season as a defensive replacement and has not had a single plate appearance.

Kingery is making $6 million dollars this season and $8 million dollars next season to play in AAA. He has three large club options for the following three seasons which the Phillies will almost certainly decline.

Signing a player before they debut comes with a lot of risk and the potential of a very high reward. If Kingery became a star it would've been a bargain. Kingery not even being on the team makes this deal an absolute disaster.

With the Phillies struggling to find an everyday center fielder for years, Kingery would've been perfect. Instead, they had to trade one of their top prospects for a guy in Brandon Marsh who hasn't shown much at the big league level.

The money isn't horrible, but making that much money for one inning in the field is atrocious.