Is Kody Clemens Turning Back into a Pumpkin?

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. 

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.

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.

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

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. 

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

Twins have already gotten 1 bWAR from him this season.

That’s 2 more than I anticipated.

Hey, when your future goes down, and the guy you get off the scrap heap hits really well for a month, you really can't ask for anything more.