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One of the perceived strengths of the Twins coming into spring training was their depth. They have a lot of starting pitchers. Seven have made starts already this season, and we talk about how close other prospects can be. The bullpen does have some depth and they use the full 40-man roster for it. The depth on the position player side of the coin came from the fact that they have a lot of players with a lot of versatility. But when several of those versatile players are unavailable, well, the depth is in dire straits. Derek Falvey and Jeremy Zoll have been quite busy of late.
For the second time in a week, the Minnesota Twins have made a trade to acquire a recently-DFAd player from an NL East team. A week ago, the Twins sent some cash to the Miami Marlins in exchange for infielder Jonah Bride. Following Friday night's game, the Twins made a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire infielder/outfielder Kody Clemens.
The son of former All Star and multi-Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens has a total of 402 MLB plate appearances since he debuted in May of 2022 for the Tigers. He played in 56 gams and hit .197 (.505) with four doubles and five homers. He played first, second, and third base as well as left field. He also pitched.
In January of 2023, he was sent from Detroit to the Phillies with reliever Gregory Soto for three players. He played in 47 games for Philly in 2023 and hit .230 (.655) with seven doubles and four homers. In 2024, he played in 43 games and hit .219/.258/.447 (.706) with nine doubles, a triple and five homers. In the 2024 playoffs, Clemens went 2-for-5 (.400) with a double. This season, he was 0-for-6 in seven games played. The Phillies Designated him for Assignment on Wednesday.
He has played in 144 MLB games. He has made 53 starts at first base, 21 starts at third base, 10 starts at second base, and six starts in left field. Earlier I mentioned that he pitched a bit for the Tigers in 2022. The 2018 draft pick from Texas pitched in seven games in 2022. In 2023, he pitched four times. Last year, he pitched just once.
In other words, Clemens can play around the field, particularly in the infield, something the Twins are desperate for right now.
In his first plate appearance on Friday night, Twins rookie Luke Keaschall was hit on the wrist by a pitch. While it looked like it hurt, Keaschall went to first base and seemed OK. Until cameras showed him trying to put on his "oven mitt" for running the bases. That looked painful. When the time came for his next plate appearance, Mickey Gasper took the at-bat.
Following the game, the team announced that Keaschall had an x-ray that showed a fractured arm, and it will keep him out for an extended period of time.
The Keaschall injury is just another in a long line of lengthy injuries to top Twins prospects over the past couple of decades. On a positive note, Royce Lewis made his first rehab appearance on Friday night in St. Paul, but he will need more time after not playing in a game since hurting his hamstring in mid-March. After he was optioned a couple of weeks ago, Jose Miranda went on the Saints injured list thanks to a big case of water. Austin Martin began the season hitting well in St. Paul, but he hurt him hamstring tracking down a ball in the right centerfield gap. Willi Castro hurt his oblique and eventually had to be placed on the IL. Matt Wallner is likely to be out for awhile as well with his hamstring injury.
The other player on the 40-man roster is Jair Camargo, who actually played some first base and third base for the Saints on Friday night due to Yunior Severino getting hurt, but that doesn't make sense. Emmanuel Rodriguez is on the 40-man roster, but he was out of the Saints lineup on Friday night with a thumb injury.
The Twins were able to outright Diego Cartaya from the 40-man roster earlier on Friday, so Clemens' addition will not need a corresponding move on the 40-man roster. Keaschall will certainly go on the 10-Day IL. Not need to place him on the 60-Day Injured List at this point.
A quick look at the Twins current roster (after this trade becomes official and an IL spot goes to Keaschall) presents a far different roster than the Twins were planning to have a month into the season.
C: Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vazquez
IF: Ty France, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa, Brooks Lee, Mickey Gasper, Kody Clemens, Jonah Bride
OF: Harrison Bader, Byron Buxton, Trevor Larnach, DaShawn Keirsey, Jr.
MLB Injured List: UT Willi Castro, 2B/DH Luke Keaschall, 3B Royce Lewis, OF Matt Wallner
Also on 40-Man Roster (Healthy): C Jair Camargo
Also on 40-Man Roster (Not Healthy): Austin Martin, Jose Miranda, Emmanuel Rodriguez)
Assuming Royce Lewis's rehab goes well, maybe he joins the big-league club on the road in about a week. But we really don't have any timelines yet on Willi Castro, Matt Wallner, or now Keaschall. We also haven't heard updates on how Miranda and Martin are rehabbing. And Rodriguez has struggled the last two years with hand/thumb injuries, that we don't know how close he could be to a call up.
So, the Twins won for the third time in the four games they have played at home this week. They have two more games against the Angels. They are now 10-16. Next week, they play four games in Cleveland against the Guardians before heading to Fenway for three games against the Red Sox.
I guess I wouldn't go out and buy "Bride" or "Clemens" jerseys right now. Both players are out of options, and unless they quickly become cult heroes for on-field performances and big hits in the very near future (which would be GREAT), they are likely not long for the roster. These are the moves that make the most sense in responding to this very situation. They just need to be patient and get these players back.
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