Phillies’ Scott Kingery and Kody Clemens lose roster battle to Jake Cave and Dalton Guthrie

CLEARWATER, Fla. — At 9 a.m. sharp on a muggy Monday morning, the Phillies’ Scott Kingery and Kody Clemens gave each other a quick, sympathetic bro-hug in the clubhouse at BayCare Ballpark. Then they stepped over the cardboard box in front of Clemens’ locker, walked three lockers down where Dalton Guthrie sat, stepped over the plastic shipping crate, and shook his hand.

The team breaks camp Tuesday. Players who make the team put their stuff in a crate to be shipped to Citizens Bank Park. Players who get cut put their stuff in a cardboard box to be shipped to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Kingery and Clemens were cardboard-box guys.

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About 15 minutes before the emotional scene, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told Kingery and Clemens that they had lost out to Guthrie and veteran Jake Cave in the competition for the final two bench spots. Kingery is the club’s former No. 1 prospect, whom they will pay $8 million this season, and Clemens is the youngest of Roger Clemens’ four sons.

Both Kingery and Clemens played well in spring training. The loss of right-handed hitter Rhys Hoskins moved Darick Hall from the bench competition and into the starting spot at first base, but it also added to a glut of lefty hitters on the roster. That compromised Clemens’ chances, since he hits left-handed. Yes, Kingery is a right-handed hitter, and yes, he’s making a ton of money, but he’s not on the 40-man roster, and his big-league history isn’t impressive.

Guthrie fits the bill. He hits right-handed. He plays center field. He had a superb triple-A season and a fine September call-up last year. Guthrie started in right field Monday against the Blue Jays in the Phillies’ penultimate spring training game, which allowed Nick Castellanos to serve as designated hitter.

None of the bench candidates was surprised at how things shook out.

“A little disappointed, but not surprised,” Kingery said.

When Hoskins, his good friend, was injured, Kingery’s heart broke for him, but at the same time “Scotty JetPax” believed his chances improved: “I thought there was a chance.”

The Phillies believed Guthrie suited their needs a bit better, and they don’t want Kingery to lose his mojo as a part-time player.

“Scotty looks like he’s got the guy he was before,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s got his stroke back. He’s got his confidence back. We want him playing every day.

“And Clemens did nothing wrong.”

Clemens knows that.

“The truth is, they’re looking for a right-handed center fielder, and it just fell that way,” Clemens said. “It just fell that way, that I don’t have a spot.”

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Given the fickle nature of baseball, between slumps and injuries, that will inevitably change.

“They said to be ready,” Clemens said. “That I’m going to be a part of the team at some point.”

“Yeah, it’s a little easier knowing everyone will probably get a shot at some point this year,” Kingery said.

Indeed, for the first time in a long time, the Phillies have a pair of compelling players at triple A who they can plug in to multiple spots in the lineup. Thomson arrived six years ago as a bench coach, and the Phillies lacked minor-league luxuries like Kingery and Clemens.

“Since I’ve been here I don’t think we’ve had the depth we have now,” Thomson said.

Guthrie and Cave will be asked to provide more than depth.

Cave, 30, made the Twins’ opening-day roster in 2019 and 2021, and the Phillies claimed him off waivers from the Orioles in December with every expectation that he’d make theirs, too. He has been the star of camp, leading the team with a .440 average, a 1.301 OPS, and 14 RBIs.

Guthrie’s situation was far different. He’s 26, and got only 45 plate appearances in the major leagues last season, but he hit .333 after a strong triple-A season. He’s technically still a rookie, and he was thrilled to make his first opening-day roster.

“Yes, I’m really excited. It’s pretty cool, for the first time,” Guthrie said.

After weeks of competition, he was relieved that Kingery and Clemens were gracious: “They were real classy about it.”

Classy, maybe. Accepting? Not exactly.

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Kingery snatched his phone from his locker and went outside for 10 minutes. Clemens took a shower and got dressed in his street clothes.

“I thought I had a great spring. I saw the ball well. Put together a ton of good at-bats,” Clemens said, choking up a bit. “I thought it went really well. I showed them what I’m capable of doing.”

He did.

Clemens was part of the trade with the Tigers in January that landed flame-throwing lefty reliever Gregory Soto. He hit .319 with a 1.002 OPS this spring after hitting .274 with an .862 OPS at triple A in 2022. He has played first, second, and third base as well as both corner outfield spots. He got into 57 major league games last season and exceeded his rookie limits, but he hit just .145 in 127 plate appearances for the Tigers after his late-May call-up.

Kingery, 28, is facing the final chapter of his Phillies saga. The Phillies handed him a six-year, $24 million contract in the spring of 2018 before he’d ever played in a big-league game. Between the pressure of the contract and his inconsistent usage, he struggled. An elite defensive second baseman, he has played second base in just 311 of his 2,359⅔ big-league innings. That’s less than 14%.

The Phillies hope to get something out of Kingery’s contract yet. They had hitting coach Kevin Long work with him in Arizona working four times a week, and it seems to have paid off. Kingery is hitting .381 with a .922 OPS this spring. Still, he’s a career .229 hitter with a .667 OPS. He also is an excellent defender and a next-level athlete who can play every position except catcher, and don’t bet against him in the squat.

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“They said it looks like my confidence is back, and they love to see it,” Kingery said. “My confidence — it is back. I’m playing at a level I know I can play at.”

The rest of the bench will be comprised of backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, who has recovered from the knee strain he suffered playing for Israel at the World Baseball Classic; Edmundo Sosa, an elite defensive infielder and perhaps Thomson’s favorite player; and 35-year-old former Pirates All-Star Josh Harrison, whom the Phillies signed to a $2 million free-agent deal.

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