Former Philadelphia Phillies utility man Kody Clemens received a harsh lesson in the business side of baseball as the team took advantage of exercising his minor league options with frequency over the last two seasons. Finally out of options this year and recently traded to the Minnesota Twins after being designated for assignment, Clemens seems to have found a path to playing time with his new ball club.
There was little remaining doubt that Clemens deserved to be on a 26-man roster at the MLB level. That became obvious after the 29-year-old son of baseball legend Roger Clemens filled in admirably all across the diamond when called upon, providing clutch hits off the bench, in addition to taking the mound a few times to help spare the bullpen during a couple of blowout losses.
But with Edmundo Sosa's right-handed bat clearly a better fit for the team's left-handed heavy roster, it came as little surprise that a handful of rival MLB teams had interest in acquiring Clemens after he was designated for assignment in late April. The Twins had interest, and so far, Clemens has become a nice addition to the American League Central team's starting lineup.
Phillies fans will be happy to see Kody Clemens thriving with the Twins
It's pretty easy to forget that Kody Clemens was actually a member of the Phillies' Opening Day roster to begin the season. Used sparingly by manager Rob Thomson from the outset, Clemens only appeared in seven games and was hitless in six at-bats before being jettisoned from the roster altogether.
That being said, all it takes sometimes is a change of scenery and more playing time to turn on the switch, and so far Clemens' fit with the Twins looks like a very good match.
Now 17 games into his Twins tenure, Clemens has contributed 14 hits, eight runs, three home runs and 10 RBIs, while also batting .318 with a 1.070 OPS while playing first, second and in the outfield after injuries wreaked havoc on Minnesota in the weeks following Opening Day. While 44 at-bats is a small sample size to use as a marker of future success, it's clear that Clemens' presence has given the Twins a nice lift.
Clemens' recent run of success culminated in a two-out, walk-off RBI double in the ninth inning on Wednesday afternoon to give the Twins a 6-5 win against the Cleveland Guardians. Going 8-2 in their last 10 games, Minnesota sits at 27-22 as they attempt to unseat the Detroit Tigers for first place in the AL Central division.
And while things certainly could have played out much differently during Clemens' time in Philadelphia under more favorable circumstances, he's still an easy guy for Phillies fans to root for. Despite being the son of baseball royalty, earlier stops in Detroit and Philadelphia provided plenty of roadblocks for the younger Clemens, and all he did was handle those situations like a true professional. Now that an opportunity has opened up, perhaps it's time for Clemens to make his stay a permanent one in Minnesota.