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Kingery will stick around as quality organizational depth after being removed from Chicago’s active roster last week. The 31-year-old’s defensive versatility is a bonus, but he doesn’t offer much at the plate. He went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in eight games for the Cubs.

Oof. It looked like Kingery was just going to get optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Friday to make room for Nicky Lopez, but with Caleb Thielbar hitting the injured list and the Cubs needing to create a spot on their 40-man roster for Vince Velasquez, Kingery will lose his spot there as well. There’s a chance that he could pique another team’s interest on waivers.

Kingery had been functioning in a reserve role for the Cubs, being used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner and late-game defensive replacement. That was until he made a couple of errors during Thursday’s game that nearly cost the Cubs the game. Nicky Lopez was promoted from Triple-A to take his place on the active roster.

Kingery is further proof that defensive versatility is the surest path to a bench role in the modern era. The 31-year-old utility specialist’s career didn’t play out as anticipated when the Phillies signed him to a long-term contract extension when he was one of the better prospects in the game but he’s managed to stick around on the fringes of several organizations. He’ll open the year in a limited role coming off Chicago’s bench.

Kingery heads to the Windy City where he’ll compete for a bench role as a versatile utility specialist in spring training. The 31-year-old former top prospect hit .148 (4-for-27) across 19 games with the Angels this past season. It would be an understatement to call his career trajectory underwhelming considering he inked a six-year extension with the Phillies back in 2018 before ever playing in the majors.

Kingery figures to elect free agency instead of sticking around with the Angels after going unclaimed on waivers. The 31-year-old infielder hit .148 (4-for-27) across 19 games with the Angels this season. It would be an understatement to call his career trajectory underwhelming considering he inked a six-year extension with the Phillies back in 2018 before ever playing in the majors.

Kingery, 31, hit just .148/.207/.185 with zero RBI and an 11/2 K/BB ratio over 29 plate appearances in 19 games with the Angels while appearing primarily as a defensive replacement. There’s a chance that he could pique another team’s interest on waivers if they’re looking for a versatile bench bat.