Philadelphia Phillies Are Really High on Clemens Following Trade

The Philadelphia Phillies front office and coaching staff are very high on Kody Clemens following a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

Lost in the euphoria of acquiring two-time All-Star Gregory Soto was the addition of Kody Clemens in the five-player deal with the Detroit Tigers.

It’s unclear if Clemens will make an immediate impact with the Philadelphia Phillies.

But this much is clear: the Phillies believe there’s a high ceiling for the highly-touted prospect.

Once a 35th round draft of the Houston Astros pick out of high school, Clemens opted to attend the University of Texas.

Clemens played multiple positions last season much like Matt Vierling, who went to the Tigers along with Nick Maton and Donny Sands.

“We really like him a lot,” Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said of Clemens on a Zoom call. “We think he has a chance to be a very helpful player with his versatility. He’s got some pop in his bat, too. You look at his numbers and the number of balls he hit out of the ballpark at the Triple-A level, and even some at the big league level.

“Kevin Long had a chance to take a look at him. He likes his swing. So we like a lot of things about him.”

Like many young players, Clemens was inconsistent in his brief tenure with the Tigers, hitting just .145 with 33 strikeouts.

At Triple-A, he hit 13 home runs and knocked in 43 runs.

The potential was definitely evident.

“He was a very successful college player,” Dombrowski said on Zoom. “He’s a good player, he’s a gamer. He’s versatile. He came up more as a second baseman. He can play third. He can play first. He can play the corners in the outfield. He did not do well at the big league level last year in a very limited number of appearances. But he’s got some pop. He’s a winning-type player. He’s a gamer.”

There doesn’t appear to be a downside here. If Clemens ends up contributing this season, it will be beneficial.

If it takes another season at Double-A Reading or Triple-A Lehigh Valley, that’s fine. This is all about player development.

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