The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t have a lot of competition during Spring Training, but things heated up when Weston Wilson suffered an oblique injury. With the Phillies’ utilityman out of action with an injury, the race to see who would claim his spot was on between Edmundo Sosa and Kody Clemens.
Sosa stormed out of the gate to hit .346/.386/.442 with 10 RBI in the Phillies' first 22 games and Wilson has since returned, making Clemens expendable. The deal to send him to the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but it may be one that the Phillies regret now that the 29-year-old has taken off with his new team.
Former Phillies Utilityman Kody Clemens is Off to a Hot Start With the Twins
Clemens was a logical candidate to go based on his track record over three seasons with the Phillies. While he hit .266/.322/.489 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season, those numbers never translated to the major league level, hitting .220/.365/.394 in 97 games for Philadelphia over the past three seasons. Even this year, Clemens couldn’t take advantage of his opportunity, going hitless in six at-bats and being outpaced by Sosa.
With no minor league options remaining, Clemens was the easiest player to get rid of. But he’s made the most of his chances for the Twins.
Acquired in the wake of infielder Luke Keaschall’s broken forearm on April 27, Clemens went 2-for-15 in his first 17 plate appearances for the Twins. But Clemens wound up having more opportunities when Ty France missed time with a left foot contusion and started to rake, going 9-for-22 with two doubles, two homers, six RBI ,and three walks over his last 25 plate appearances.
This is an extremely small sample size but it’s the type of opportunity Clemens never received in the major leagues. His largest sample size came when he hit .145/.197/.308 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 56 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2022. His high-water mark with the Phillies came last season when he hit .219/.258/.447 with five homers and 18 RBI in 43 games. But a reserve role was never going to materialize in Philadelphia as long as Sosa was hitting well and Wilson was healthy, necessitating a need for a clean slate.
It’s unlikely that Clemens is suddenly a one-dot player. But he’s getting the opportunity he didn’t have in Philadelphia, especially with Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa hitting the seven-day concussion list over the weekend. Winners of 13 straight before Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Clemens’s play has helped make the Twins one of the hottest teams in MLB and could carve out the role he’s been seeking over his four years in the majors.