Phillies’ Scott Kingery shows off results of his ‘different swing’ with homer off Aaron Nola

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies’ Scott Kingery stepped into the box on Thursday at BayCare Ballpark against Aaron Nola and launched one of Nola’s changeups just short of the tiki bar behind left field. Kingery got a round of applause from his teammates and walked back to the dugout with a smile.

The former second-round pick knows not to get ahead of himself this early in camp. But he is allowed to get a little excited. A lot of work went into that home run. And the one he hit the day before, too.

Kingery saw an opportunity this offseason, ahead of the final guaranteed year of his six-year, $24 million contract. He was healthy for the first time in a while. In 2021, the utility player underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Before that, he was rehabbing to “not get the surgery I ended up getting,” in his telling. But in Arizona this winter, he had time, he had health, and he had Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long at his disposal.

» READ MORE: Noah Song hasn’t pitched in three years, but the Phillies think his talent is worth the gamble

Long and Kingery worked a little last spring, but they only had five days together. This offseason in Arizona, they worked on Kingery’s hitting four times a week. The first thing they addressed was Kingery’s stance. Long told him he wanted to get more into his legs — like the type of position he’d have when he was fielding a ground ball.

“Get into your regular stance,” he said, “and catch this.”

Long threw him a ball, which rolled right between Kingery’s legs.

“Now get into your fielding position a little bit more,” Long said.

Kingery did. This time he caught the ball, and the lesson that Long was trying to teach him clicked. If he stayed in his legs, he’d have a quicker and more direct path to the baseball.

From there, they got to work. Long encouraged Kingery to quiet down some of his movements and keep his direction toward center field. The early results have been promising.

“You can see that it’s a different swing,” Long said. “He didn’t have the ability to go direct to the ball — it just was not happening. There was a lot of stuff happening before he went to contact. A lot of inward turning. He would bury his hands. Some tilt to his bat, it was uphill, it wasn’t direct. He understands what he needs to do now, and how he needs to do it.”

Before Kingery reported to camp, he told Long that this is the first time in years he’s felt confident in the batter’s box. He’s even said he’s felt more confident in the batter’s box than he does in the field at times — which is saying something, since Kingery’s strength has long been his defense.

» READ MORE: The education of Phillies phenom Andrew Painter included workouts (and hoops) with Max Scherzer

Long appreciated the open communication, but he didn’t need to hear it from Kingery; he could see the confidence himself. When they were working out in Arizona, Kingery started to get more vocal during batting practice.

“He’d say stuff like, ‘Wow, that is a laser,’” Long said. “Or, ‘Oh my God, that ball is touched.’ Or, ‘Huh, what are they going to do now?’ Just little comments like that. That’s what hitters do when they’re rolling. When they know that things are going well and they can feel it.

“There was almost a point last year where I felt like he was hesitant about going to the batter’s box. There’s no hesitation now. His confidence is spilling out of him. Now he’s jumping in.”

Of course, this was one home run in one live batting practice. There’s no saying where Kingery’s offensive adjustments will lead — and if history is any indication, it’s probably best to be skeptical. He’s played in only 325 big league games since he signed his six-year contract, and has hit .229/.280/.387 over that span. Kingery isn’t even on the Phillies’ 40-man roster.

But if the adjustments work, he could certainly fulfill a need. The Phillies have two open roster spots on the bench — and are specifically in need of a backup, right-handed center fielder — and Kingery has 550 innings worth of experience at that position.

He isn’t focusing on all that quite yet. For now, he’s relishing his moment in the sun, and what it represents.

» READ MORE: Rhys Hoskins’ lame-duck contract status with Phillies evokes memories of Pat Burrell in 2008

“It always feels good to hit a home run, but it felt better because of all the work we did leading up to it,” said Kingery, 28. “We’re continuing to hammer it in here in the cage, and it’s starting to show up on the field. I’m starting to feel comfortable. That’s what I’m happy about.”

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said he had no update on a contract extension for Nola. “Aaron is a player that we want to keep in the organization for an extended time,” Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski was also asked about first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who will be eligible for free agency after this season. He declined to comment on a potential extension.

“Rhys is a tremendous player, a tremendous person,” Dombrowski said. “He’s done a lot for this organization. And so we’ll just analyze and see what takes place. But we love him; we think the world of him.”

» READ MORE: They’re roommates, ‘skilled chefs,’ and the future of the Phillies’ pitching staff