There’s no reason for Kody Clemens to still be on the Twins’ roster
It’s time for the Twins to move on from Kody Clemens, who Minnesota acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash on April 26 as a response to the Luke Keaschall injury.
Here’s why.
Clemens has struggled to hit major-league pitching throughout his career
Clemens, son of MLB pitching legend Roger Clemens, only has three hits as a Twin, but all of them went for extra bases. In 19 plate appearances since joining Minnesota’s roster, Clemens has a .176/.263/.471 slash line with one home run, two doubles and two hit-by-pitches while mostly playing second base. He also saw time at first base and corner outfield in the Twins’ series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Clemens, who previously played for the Detroit Tigers along with the Phillies, has a career .196/.245/.372 batting line in 421 plate appearances across parts of four major league seasons amid several stints in the minors. He has a career .255/.329/.471 slash line in 2011 minor league plate appearances.
There are better options than Clemens in Triple-A
On top of Clemens’ inability to hit at a high level in the majors, there are several options in Triple-A that have the potential to provide more value than the former Phillie. It makes sense for Edouard Julien and José Miranda to stay in St. Paul since they can play every day and have had major league success that the Twins are hoping returns. However, two players currently with the Saints have a good chance to provide more value than Clemens as a bench player.
The Twins should replace Clemens with either Mickey Gasper or Carson McCusker
Gasper has already been on the Twins’ roster in two stints this season. He hit .177/.282/.206 in 39 plate appearances.
So why should he be on the roster over Clemens?
Acknowledging that Clemens has more major league experience than Gasper and is likely favored defensively, Gasper has more potential to be a force at the plate. He looked better the second time around with the Twins, collecting his first extra-base hit and three singles in 16 at-bats, whereas he only had two hits, all singles, in 18 at-bats before his first demotion to St. Paul.
Gasper could very well be a ‘Quad-A’ player, but his potential is clearly higher than Clemens’. Clemens hasn’t hit well in the big leagues, and Gasper is hitting an absurd .429/.546/1.029 with six home runs in 44 plate appearances with the Saints this year and has a career .396 on-base percentage in the minor leagues.
As he continues to crush Triple-A pitching, Mickey Gasper was named International League player of the week. #MNTwins
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 12, 2025
His "4 HRs & 11 hits are both tied for most in minor league baseball. His .571 OBP, 1.087 SLG & 1.658 OPS were highest in MiLB among hitters w/ at least ABs."
McCusker, the other player who likely deserves a shot over Clemens, is an outfielder but could still give the Twins more value than Clemens. Minnesota already has six other infielders on the roster anyway.
McCusker has a .333/.400/.658 slash line with ten homers in 131 plate appearances for the Saints this season. And unlike Gasper, he hasn’t had the chance to prove himself yet in the major leagues. However, the Twins clearly like having a variety of versatile infielders on the roster, so Gasper would be a more likely replacement for Clemens. Still, McCusker deserves a call-up based on his stats.