Is Kody Clemens Turning Back into a Pumpkin?

[Cody Schoenmann]

After winning the Philadelphia Phillies' final bench spot over right-handed utility infielder Buddy Kennedy, Kody Clemens appeared in just six games for Philadelphia from Mar. 29 through Apr. 18, hitting .000/.167/.000 with a -36 wRC+ over six plate appearances. Receiving minimal playing time and demonstrating an inability to produce when provided opportunities, Philadelphia designated Clemens for assignment on Apr. 23. Three days later, Phillies decision-makers traded the 29-year-old to the Minnesota Twins, ending his two-season stint with Philadelphia.

Despite showcasing defensive flexibility, Clemens never performed at an above-average rate offensively for Philadelphia, evidenced by him generating a 73 wRC+ over 148 plate appearances with the club in 2023 and a 92 wRC+ over 120 plate appearances in 2024. Due to consistent struggles at the plate, the Texas product's departure from the City of Brotherly Love was rather unceremonious. Interestingly, though, the career sub-replacement level utility player quickly changed his fortunes with Minnesota, hitting .253/.354/.554 with 21 hits, six home runs, five doubles, 10 walks, and a 156 wRC+.

Headlined by increased bat speed and a newfound knack for power, Clemens has become a revelation for Twins Territory, effectively replacing the production the organization had hoped to receive from Edouard Julien at the beginning of the season. Here is how Clemens performed from Apr. 24 through May 24 with the Twins:

• .319/.396/.723, 54 plate appearances, 15 hits, four home runs, five doubles, 29.6% strikeout rate, 212 wRC+

Sacrificing contact for power, Clemens executed the best three-week stretch of his career, performing 112% better than league average. Again, he was a welcomed jolt for a struggling Minnesota club. However, Roger's son's ability to produce at the plate has begun to dip significantly, indicating he could be reverting to the player Philadelphia elected to part ways with. Here is how Clemens has performed since May 25:

• .167/.302/.333, 43 plate appearances, six hits, two home runs, zero doubles, 14% strikeout rate, 87 wRC+

Despite slashing his strikeout rate in half, Clemens' performance resembles that of the player he was with the Detroit Tigers and Phillies more than his first three weeks in Minnesota, a notion supported by rolling expected wOBa (50 plate appearances):

His expected rolling expected SLG (50 plate appearances) tells a similar story:

Clemens regressing to something closer to the player he was with Detroit and Philadelphia is unsurprising. He was never going to continue performing at an Aaron Judge-esque rate. Still, he was a significant contributor to the club's 13-game winning streak, whose positional versatility was necessary as the club navigated injuries to Matt Wallner, Willi Castro, Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton.

Still, with Wallner, Castro, Correa, and Buxton back in the fold and Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Ty France steadily improving at the plate, there is reason to believe Clemens' opportunities could continue to dwindle until he is starting only once or twice a week and entering as a pinch-runner or late-game defensive substitution. With Luke Keaschall on the precipice of returning from his nondisplaced forearm fracture and Payton Eeles performing at an above-average rate in Triple-A after returning from offseason knee surgery, even more roster pressure could soon weigh over Clemens.

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[Parfigliano]

Pretty sure he's turning back into Kody Clemens.

[GNess]

He has already contributed to some wins in a manner no one could have anticipated. That's reason alone to be grateful for him. Yes, he may be regressing, but his on-going results could be better than his historical numbers which might keep him on the roster.

[NYCTK]

Yeah. Not a surprise. Still think he's good enough that he should be getting a bulk of the starts at 2B, but I'm not really a B-Lee-ver so I get why others would prefer to see Lee get a bulk of the playing time there instead. 

[Hrbeks Divot]

I appreciate what he has been able to provide for us and understand that it’s not sustainable. It would be nice if he settles in somewhere in between the two samples show and can be a productive bench player. If not I’ll just enjoy the ride and feel happy for him to had had a little run. Unfortunately the FO has had a bit of a knack for hanging on to these fringe players too long in many cases. As long as we don’t keep running him out there as a pseudo started with an 87 wRC+ when we have other options with higher ceiling potential to fill the spot I’m okay with it.

[DJL44]

He's been pretty good defensively. Even if he regresses to his career 82 OPS+ offense, he's a better choice at 2B than Julien. He's going to be streaky, contributing mainly when he hits a HR. That's a guy worth having on the MLB roster.

[Whitey333]

Yes he's regressing just like many of the Twins current players.  Even some with superstar status.  He's almost earned the right to stay longer.  But I'm sure he won't stay.  He's been fun to watch and more productive than some of the players that will be kept

[mikelink45]

Wait and see - he has hit well.  If he is slowing down it could just be a small slump - who really knows.  But when Keaschall returns or Eeles come up he would seem to be next in line. 

[Trov]

Be happy with the stretch he gave you, you struck gold quickly, but give him is DFA papers let him move to St. Paul or opt for FA if he wants to. He is cooked. 

[Mike Sixel]

24 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Yes he's regressing just like many of the Twins current players.  Even some with superstar status.  He's almost earned the right to stay longer.  But I'm sure he won't stay.  He's been fun to watch and more productive than some of the players that will be kept

Regressing to who you are isn't getting worse all the time ... Like Lewis regressing to himself would be much better than he's been. 

[DJL44]

Quote

and Payton Eeles performing at an above-average rate in Triple-A after returning from offseason knee surgery

How about we worry about things that have actually happened rather than hypotheticals. I can "what if" a hundred scenarios that could change the roster.

[Western SD Fan]

Clemens is a feel-good story that, when the hard decisions come, the FO makes the correct decision and DFA him and thank him for his contribution.  With that being said, I don't see a reason to rush Keashall's recovery or rushing up Eeles provided Clemens can still provide good AB's and good defense.  It also doesn't look like Fitzgerald or Julien have really pushed the needle requiring a change with Clemens at the moment.

[thelanges5]

Jonah Bride has to be first on the DFA list. Not sure if he stays until Keaschall comes back but that’s where my money goes. He hasn’t had a hit since May 19. Although he did pitch better than Alcala last week, he doesn’t add any value.

[LA Vikes Fan]

He sems like a decent bench player but it's very unlikely that his hot start presages a major rise to competent MLB starter at age 29. This is pretty simple. He's second on the list to go. First guy gone is Bride, then Clemens. How long they stay depends on when whether there is someone who needs to come up. Keaschall comes up when he's ready, maybe just before or right after the ASB.  The real question is who else is there? Maybe Eeles? Maybe Miranda or Julien show enough, but I think that those 2 are in AAA for the season unless they really break out for at least a month or Clemens just falls off a cliff since Clemens has been better than either of them. Also all it takes is one IF injury for Clemens to have a pretty secure roster spot. I can see him hitting around .235-.250 with an OPS over .750 in a part time role. Given that he can field pretty well, that's a good guy to have. 

I suspect that Clemens is here for the duration unless Eeles or Prato forces his way up. I think we're looking at the non-pitching side of the 26 man roster absent injury until Keaschall is ready and then Bride goes. Eeles or Prato is the first man up if someone gets hurt in the IF, Keirsey in the OF unless and until Austin Martin is ready. 

[LambchoP]

Clemens is probably our guy until Keaschal comes back, or less likely, Eeles forces his way into the roster. One I jury in the infield can change all of this of course. I think Lee and Clemens will fight it out for the starting 2nd base job until one of them earns the starting role, or Keaschal comes back and immediately makes an impact.

[DJL44]

I took a look at what's different for Clemens offensively.

He's significantly dropped his strikeout rate and doubled his walk rate - to the point where it looks like he's traded off strikeouts for walks. That's huge.

His performance vs breaking balls is drastically improved year-on-year: a .146 xWOBA last year and .480 this season. He's definitely figured out how to hit sweepers. I don't know if he will see another sweeper for a month.

He's hitting the ball harder when he barrels the ball and barreling more often. He's chasing pitches less often and jumping on the first pitch more often. He's pulling the ball less often and going up the middle more often (though he still rarely goes opposite field).

[DJL44]

21 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Eeles or Prato is the first man up if someone gets hurt in the IF

Either one would have to leapfrog over Fitzgerald and Holland. Miranda and Julien are showing signs of life again as well.

[Fatbat]

If Clemons produces even slightly above average when called upon, he will likely be the 26th man. Continued regression and he will be the 30th man.

[MGX]

The answer is NO...

Kody Clemens
2022 - 127 PA's - 39 WRC+
2023 - 148 PA's - 73 WRC+
2024 - 120 PA's - 92 WRC+
2025 - 106 PA's - 137 WRC+
 

Looks to me more like consistent improvement. Is he likely to maintain a 137 WRC+, of course not. He has however shown enough improvement to continue getting PA's.

His underlying numbers show he is hitting the ball harder & with more frequency. Combine that with a career low K rate & a career high BB rate. I'd say he deserves continued playing time for now.

 

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Regressing to who you are isn't getting worse all the time ... Like Lewis regressing to himself would be much better than he's been. 

Lewis' re-gressing would be pro-gressing. I'm guessing.

[Guest]

"Apr. 18, hitting .000/.167/.000 with a -36 wRC+ over six plate appearances. With the journeyman receiving minimal playing time and demonstrating an inability to produce when provided opportunities." 

DEMONSTRATING AN INABILITY TO PRODUCE OVER SIX fncking PLATE APPEARANCES????

C'mon!! While I may agree he is and has to regress; for you to use SIX plate appearances as a metric, well that just pisses me off.

As someone who has agreed so often with your take, I am extremely disappointed in you now. Who else are you holding to a six plate appearance standard?

[arby58]

It's a long season, and, with a 1.0 WAR that is higher than all Twins batters save Buxton, Bader, and Jeffers, Clemens deserves plenty of opportunities to get back on track.

Meanwhile, the Twins hitters with a negative WAR this year are Bride, Fitzgerald, Gasper, McCusker, Miranda, Julien, and Keirsay. My guess is Bride is the first out when the Twins next play 26-man roster musical chairs.

[Sjoski]

Turning back into a pumpkin just means settling back into your typical level. For some players, like Clemens,  that ’s a drop-off. For others like Lewis, getting back to their true form is actually a step forward. It all depends on what the baseline is."

[High heat]

No one really thought a 30 yr old journeyman was all the sudden going to hit .270 with 30 hr power.  
 

Twins got a ton of value out of him at a time that was desperately needed.  He actually may have saved the season.  
 

But him turning back into the player he has always been should be expected.

[Cody Schoenmann]

4 hours ago, Verified Member said:

"Apr. 18, hitting .000/.167/.000 with a -36 wRC+ over six plate appearances. With the journeyman receiving minimal playing time and demonstrating an inability to produce when provided opportunities." 

DEMONSTRATING AN INABILITY TO PRODUCE OVER SIX fncking PLATE APPEARANCES????

C'mon!! While I may agree he is and has to regress; for you to use SIX plate appearances as a metric, well that just pisses me off.

As someone who has agreed so often with your take, I am extremely disappointed in you now. Who else are you holding to a six plate appearance standard?

VM, I wouldn't stress about that statement too much. All I'm saying is that he failed to produce in the six PAs the Phillies provided him earlier this season. I know six plate appearances is an almost negligible sample size. The more important element is that Philadelphia went out of its way to not play him.

Edited June 10, 2025 by Cody Schoenmann

[DocBauer]

I don't know about turning back in to a pumpkin. His initial hot streak when joining the Twins was an All Star caliber performance for a 29yo journeyman. He was NEVER going to maintain that kind of production. But it doesn't mean that a new team, continued maturity as a ML ballplayer, and an opportunity to play couldn't mean he's developed in to a solid ML utility player who MIGHT be about ML average as a hitter. For now, he fills a role with decent defense, and a fairly powerful LH bat that deserves playing time to see if he's just regressing from unsustainable numbers, or regressing to the same player hes been so far in his career.

Unfortunately, for now, the best option is to believe he's grown and developed as a hitter, and is worthy of his roster spot and additional opportunities. There's nobody else to replace him!

A month from now, Keaschall should be back, or close to. Bride is probably gone. Unless Julien or Miranda SUDDENLY figure it out, they aren't current options to help. Any chance Martin could help is out the window due to injury.

It's POSSIBLE that Holland or Eeles might continue to perform really well over the next few weeks...and Clemens doesn't...and the Twins finally look INTERNALLY for options...and one of them displaces Clemens along with Keaschall taking Bride's spot. I can see that happening.

But for NOW, you can't ignore someone who's done well and might just be in a slump but can still be a decent contributor. 

[Jeff K]

22 hours ago, DJL44 said:

He's been pretty good defensively. Even if he regresses to his career 82 OPS+ offense, he's a better choice at 2B than Julien. He's going to be streaky, contributing mainly when he hits a HR. That's a guy worth having on the MLB roster.

Better than Julien is damning with feint praise!  But his fielding has been good and hopefully his hitting levels out to be a good bench player.

[Castino-2]

On 6/10/2025 at 10:39 AM, NYCTK said:

Yeah. Not a surprise. Still think he's good enough that he should be getting a bulk of the starts at 2B, but I'm not really a B-Lee-ver so I get why others would prefer to see Lee get a bulk of the playing time there instead. 

If we don't have a better starting option at 2B than Clemens, we're in tremendous trouble.

[arby58]

21 minutes ago, Castino-2 said:

If we don't have a better starting option at 2B than Clemens, we're in tremendous trouble.

There are 13 second basemen with a WAR higher than Clemens' 1.0 at this point in the season (according to MLB.com). Several are barely above it:
Witt (3.4), Turang (2.6), Donovan (2.3), Horner and Marte (2.2), Chisholm and Torres (1.6), Edman, Gimenez, and Holliday (1.2), McNeil and Kim (1.1).

Given the salary disparity with some of these players, I'm not sure the 'in tremendous trouble' claim is valid at the moment.

[jkcarew]

Twins have already gotten 1 bWAR from him this season.

That’s 2 more than I anticipated.