After ‘surprise' DFA, Kody Clemens quickly made Twins' clubhouse feel like home

New York Times

6 days ago

TAMPA, Fla. — Whether it's dominating Brooks Lee with aces in ping-pong, telling the team's relief pitchers he's one of them or providing critical hit after critical hit, Kody Clemens has made an impact since joining the Twins.
Though he arrived via trade on April 26, his Twins teammates talk as if the utilityman has long been a fixture in the clubhouse.
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Carlos Correa recently described Clemens, who's batting .304/.391/.696 with five home runs in 65 plate appearances with the Twins, as the club's most valuable player. Lee called him a role model and an instigator. Ryan Jeffers praised the veteran's ability to successfully find a niche in a new clubhouse.
Outstanding performances by Clemens, whose clutch hits put the Twins ahead late in three victories — including a May 19 walk-off against the Cleveland Guardians — and tied another contest, make it easier to fit into a new environment.
But Clemens also believes some of it stems from his choice to leave behind the pressure he'd placed on himself when he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, who designated him for assignment on April 23 before trading him to the Twins for cash.
Recognizing his demanding role as a pinch hitter for the Phillies made it more difficult to enjoy playing, Clemens decided during three-plus days in career limbo that whichever team acquired him would receive a player focused on hard work on the field who also kept it light in the clubhouse.
'It's hard to not put pressure on those at-bats because it might be the only at-bat I get for five days,' Clemens said. 'I don't know if it was the unknown when I was DFA'd and didn't know what was about to happen, or what it would look like, but I came in and was like, 'I'm going to try and have fun and whatever happens happens.''
Clemens said being DFA'd surprised him. The 29-year-old felt his grasp of the Phillies' big picture was good.
Right-handed pinch hitter Weston Wilson was coming off the injured list, but Clemens thought several younger players with minor-league options, who required everyday at-bats, would be sent down.
Instead, it was him.
'It was out of the blue,' Clemens said.
Knowing he'd either be outrighted to Triple A or acquired via a waiver claim or a trade, Clemens and his wife, Jessica, returned to Philadelphia the next day to pack up their apartment.
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When his agent let him know the Phillies hoped to trade him, Clemens headed home to Houston. If he needed to wait, Clemens wanted to relax with family at his parents' lake house.
Though he spent much of that day on the water, Clemens found time to take batting practice off his father, legendary pitcher Roger Clemens. The pair also looked at teams who might want him, the Twins among the five they thought to be a fit.
Roger Clemens thought the time off benefited his son.
'You're doing the hardest thing you can do in baseball,' he said. 'You sit and then pinch hit with the game on the line, or you get a start against a guy like me or Pedro (Martinez). You've just got to go up and have good at-bats. You can't worry about results. … Those three days, he was able to clear his mind.'
Kody Clemens didn't have much time to overthink. At 7:10 p.m. that night, Twins prospect Luke Keaschall suffered a fractured forearm when he was hit by a pitch. By 9:30 p.m., Clemens learned the Twins had traded for him and he'd be needed in Minneapolis by 1 p.m. the next day.
At 2:30 a.m., Clemens headed to the airport to catch the first of two flights to ensure he'd arrive for first pitch. A sleep-deprived Clemens spent his first few days reading personalities in the clubhouse to determine which Twins players liked to talk and who was reserved.
Three days later, a 200-minute rain delay in Cleveland gave Clemens a prime opportunity to spend quality time with his new teammates. They played ping-pong in the visiting clubhouse. Thus began a lively rivalry with Lee, who quickly learned Clemens possesses a killer serve.
'It's pretty good,' Lee said begrudgingly. '(I've returned it) a few times. … From the first day, it felt like he was at home. He was comfortable. He's a good personality and person. Easy to have around. I didn't think he had to mesh at all. He was immediately one of our guys.'
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Clemens, too, liked the vibe.
Two more lengthy rain delays in the May 1 series finale led to more ping-pong matches. Seeing how much everyone seemed to enjoy the competitive atmosphere, pitcher Chris Paddack, who played youth travel ball with Clemens, purchased a table for the team's clubhouse at Target Field.
Noticing the Twins didn't already have one like the Phillies did, Clemens bought a putting mat and a two-way putter for golf contests. He also added a pitcher's glove to his equipment bag, courtesy of his father, to trash-talk the relievers who surround his stall in the home clubhouse. Clemens, who has a 4.22 career ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched, insists he's one of them.
'It looks like it's straight out of Walmart,' Clemens said. 'I like to shoot the s—. I like to talk, and I've been messing around with Brooks. Him and I kind of give it back to each other. But we love it. … I'm not going to say I'm creating vibes, but I like to make it light and fun.'
In April, the Twins needed all the joy they could find.
When Clemens arrived, the team was 10-16 and playing clunky baseball. Already missing Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner and Willi Castro due to injuries, the Twins were suddenly without Keaschall, who had provided energy and outstanding play following his debut. Manager Rocco Baldelli was on the hot seat.
At first, Clemens' good glove at second base got him a few starts over Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper. Then his bat started to make a difference.
One week after the trade, Clemens provided a much-needed jolt when he belted a two-run, go-ahead homer to beat Boston at Fenway Park with his father in attendance.
What a moment 😮
Kody Clemens homers in his first game at Fenway Park … of course Roger Clemens was there to go crazy for it! pic.twitter.com/QWGhEExl36
— MLB (@MLB) May 3, 2025
The one-run victory was the first of 13 wins in a row for the Twins. Eleven days later, Clemens provided another boost with a three-run home run in the eighth inning of a comeback win at Baltimore, another game in which Roger Clemens and his wife, Debbie, attended.
From there, playing time increased.
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'It's crazy when you give a guy a fresh breath of air, a new team, a new environment, and he comes in and learns how the dynamic works and then steps up and performs as well as he has,' Jeffers said.
On May 19, Clemens tripled in a run and later helped the Twins escape with a one-run win over Cleveland with a walk-off RBI double moments after the Guardians rallied to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning.
Kody Clemens since being traded to the Minnesota Twins:
44 AB | 14 H | 5 2B | 3 HR | 10 RBI | 3 BB | 15 K | .318/.388/.682 pic.twitter.com/P6Am3x2iYt
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) May 22, 2025
On Saturday, Clemens blasted a game-tying homer in the sixth inning of an eventual one-run win over Kansas City.
'All he's done since he came in is hit and hit for power, which is exactly what we needed,' Correa said in describing Clemens as the team's MVP. 'He's been a breakthrough player for us. I'm happy he's on our side.'
5 straight games with an extra-base hit for Kody Clemens!
Tie game! #MNTwins
This crowd is rocking. pic.twitter.com/NF9momO0jB
— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) May 24, 2025
His former manager, Rob Thomson, isn't surprised by Clemens' success.
A longtime friend of Roger Clemens from their New York Yankees days, the Phillies manager has always been a fan of the younger Clemens. He knew Kody Clemens would enjoy playing for Baldelli and thought he'd benefit from the opportunity to play more regularly.
'I'm extremely happy for him,' Thomson said. 'We knew what type of player he can be. We just didn't have a fit for him, and that's really what it came down to. He's great in the clubhouse. He can really hit. He can play multiple positions. He works his tail off every single day. You can't say enough good things about him.'
Since joining the Twins, Clemens has increased his bat speed by 2 mph, according to Baseball Savant. While he thinks he's simply reached his physical peak, his father believes it's another benefit of additional playing time.
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'It's like a pitcher in spring training (building strength) to the end of spring training and breaking camp,' Roger Clemens said. 'It's nothing we haven't seen. But what I think people forget, and Rocco is seeing: (Kody) loves these guys and said it's a great clubhouse. … He wants to play ball and wants to win, and he's been like that since he was 5 years old. He has intangibles. His baseball IQ is off the charts. He makes players around him better, he's always done that.'
Kody Clemens is thrilled about the opportunity he's received with the Twins, who are 20-9 since he arrived. He likes how he's played and handled himself in the clubhouse.
'I can't ask for anything more,' he said.
As he thought back to his brief period in career limbo, Clemens laughed because he realized he learned more about the 'business of baseball' in three days than his father ever did in 24 seasons as a player.
'He's never experienced the business of baseball,' Clemens said. 'I try to tell my mom. At least from the scenarios where I wasn't playing, she wants me to be more vocal about the decision-making, and, 'Go stand up for yourself.' I'm like, 'Mom, you understand your husband could walk off the field, and he had all the leverage in the world? I've gotta show that I can play and gain leverage.''
If he keeps this up, Clemens might gain that leverage.
— The Athletic's Matt Gelb contributed to this story