By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
When the Philadelphia Phillies signed second base prospect Scott Kingery to an extension prior to his first MLB game, general manager Matt Klentak said that the Phillies hand had been forced by Kingery's play in Spring Training. The expectation was that the former second-round pick would open the season in Triple-A, staying there at least until he couldn't accumulate a year of service time. Instead, Klentak and manager Gabe Kapler felt so sure about Kingery's readiness to play at the major league level that they rewarded him with a six-year extension.
Perhaps the biggest problem for Kingery – and one of the biggest dilemmas facing the Phillies – is that the incumbent second baseman continues to force their hand as well.
Cesar Hernandez celebrated his 28th birthday Wednesday. He also led off for the Phillies for the 46th time in 47 games, while manning second base for the 45th time in 2018. Hernandez extended his league-leading on-base streak to 26 games in the team's win over the Atlanta Braves. After leading the Phillies in walks for the past three seasons, his 32 walks are currently one behind Rhys Hoskins for the team lead. After hitting just six home runs in 2016, he's already got six in 2018. Oh, and since the start of the 2016 season, FanGraphs says he's been the third best fielding second baseman.
Hernandez spoke to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia about his uncertain future with the team, saying that while he would like to be with the team for as long possible, he knows that's largely out of his control:
“Of course, something I would love is to be a Phillie forever. I’ve been part of this organization all my life. I feel comfortable here. So if I was to ever sign a contract here, I would love that. To be able to have a career like Jimmy or (Ryan) Howard, that would be fantastic.
“But if that’s not the case, I understand.”
The Phillies find themselves with an interesting predicament regarding the future of Hernandez. On one hand, the belief entering the season was that while Hernandez had forced his way into the discussion of the top 10 second basemen, Kingery had a chance to be the best second baseman at some point. The Phillies may have been comfortable with the thought of using Kingery as a super-utility player for the immediate future, but they signed him to a deal that could total nine years if all club options are exercised expecting him to play second base for the majority of that deal.
What has transpired thus far in 2018 is that Hernandez has played so well that Kapler told Salisbury that he's been the team's "steady rock." Meanwhile, while Kingery held his own in the field initially, he's increasingly struggled fielding away from second base. He's also slashed .213/.263/.333, a far cry from the immediate offensive impact that many felt the 24-year-old would have.
One school of thought says that the Phillies should continue to have Hernandez man second base until he (and Kingery) prove that he's no longer the team's best option at the position. In this scenario, Hernandez would continue to play second base, while Kingery would serve in a Ben Zobrist type super-utility role.
Of course, it is fair to wonder how realistic that role is for Kingery. First of all, Zobrist made that role famous while playing in the American League, where there are nine positions for players to hit in, not eight like the National League. Secondly, Rhys Hoskins almost never leaves left field, the same goes for Odubel Herrera in center. The Phillies have two options in right in Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr, so chances to start in right are limited, and will altogether be eliminated if the team signs a player like Bryce Harper this offseason. Kingery has struggled at shortstop recently, and J.P. Crawford, who the Phillies hope will be a long-term cog, will return from the disabled list soon. Maikel Franco is tied with Odubel Herrera for second on the team in home runs and RBIs, which has been of increasing importance since neither Hoskins or Carlos Santana have been consistently productive thus far (for a variety of different reasons). And again, the possibility exists the team will sign Manny Machado this offseason, likely to play shortstop, which would eliminate the possibility of Kingery playing short.
So the second school of thought is that as Hernandez puts together what could turn out to be a career year in 2018, the Phillies would be wise to cash in on his value in the offseason. This would allow Kingery to play second every day, while presumably allowing the Phillies to acquire another player that fills a position of need.
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There's a few potential issues with this theory, as well. First of all, the Phillies know what Hernandez is at the major league level. He controls the strike zone, a trait valued greatly by this regime, while fielding the position very well. For as impressive as Kingery was between Double-A and Triple-A a season ago, he hasn't proven to be that at the major league level yet. That doesn't mean he won't fulfill his high ceiling – the guess here is that he will – but it would be a pretty big risk to trade Hernandez before Kingery proves he's better.
The other issue with this second theory on what the Phillies should do at the second base position is that it assumes the Phillies will find an appropriate trade return for Hernandez. Salisbury noted that the Phillies asking price was "very steep" for Hernandez during the 2016 offseason. Salisbury reported this past offseason that while the Los Angeles Angels were interested in Hernandez for the second consecutive offseason, they "found the Phillies price to be too high."
This wasn't an Angels team that was unwilling to spend: general manager Billy Eppler re-signed OF Justin Upton to a five-year/$106 million deal, landed Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani and after he couldn't pull off a deal for Hernandez, Eppler instead traded for Ian Kinsler. The Angels went for it this past offseason, in an attempt to put a more competitive team around Mike Trout. But even they viewed the Phillies desired return for Hernandez to be too much, perhaps a sign of how highly the Phillies think of him.
Considering Kinsler is hitting just .190, it appears that the Angels erred in thinking he was a suitable alternative to Hernandez at this stage of his career. They are six games above .500, but currently in third place in a crowded American League West. Perhaps this offseason they'll return to the table with the Phillies and complete a trade for Hernandez. It's also entirely possible that just as happened the past two offseasons, the Angels – and the rest of the league – will have interest in Hernandez, but think that the Phillies want too large of a return for his services.
The increasingly likely scenario seems to be that the Phillies will hold onto Hernandez through 2020. After 2020, he could (and likely would) leave via free-agency. But in the meantime, the Phillies could make the playoffs multiple times with him hitting at the top of their lineup. In this scenario, Kingery would likely spend the bulk of his time at shortstop or third base, waiting to become the starting second baseman. It's not ideal for the development of Kingery, but it's difficult to imagine a scenario right now where the Phillies would be better without Hernandez than they are with him.
