Twins Have a Clear Decision to Make With Kody Clemens After His Breakout 2026 Season

It seems obvious to start with the power jump that elevated Kody Clemens’ 2026 season with the Minnesota Twins to another level, in many ways, the best year of his career since he debuted in the Major Leagues at age 26 with the Detroit Tigers in 2022.

Clemens recorded career highs in bWAR (2.7) and fWAR (2.5)—the versions from Baseball-Reference or Fangraphs, depending on which you prefer to choose—, games played (145), and accumulated his highest number of plate appearances (583) for the first time to appear among qualified hitters, in addition to his highest mark in hits (127), doubles (22), triples (7) to lead the league, home runs (27), RBI (81), stolen bases (10), walks (39), batting average (.239), on-base percentage (.298), slugging (.460) and OPS (.758).

His fWAR improved by 1.0, improving from 1.5 in 2025 to 2.5 in 2026, and that was part of an approach that began to change as Clemens became more aggressive, often taking advantage of his bat speed and the need to produce more extra-base hits even if he had to sacrifice his swing. He finished by lowering his strikeout rate from 24.5 K% to 21.8%, so the formula, at least for 2026, achieved much of the expectations. He also accompanied all that impact by becoming a smarter baserunner—moving from the 76th percentile to the 84th in Baserunning— with the 89th percentile in Average Exit Velocity and the 81st in xSLG.

Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2). Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

However, what turned Clemens into a key piece within the Twins’ roster was not only his offensive breakout, but also the fact that he is a highly versatile player with the ability to move to other positions and add positive defensive value at most of them.

In 2026, Clemens finished in the 31st percentile, which seems like a big drop from the 76th percentile he recorded in 2025, but there was an argument that takes us to another level, since he split his play across five different positions. His Run Value contribution was positive at five of them, with +2 as a right fielder, +1 at first base and in center field, and +0 in left field. So, where was the problem? Yes, in the negative accumulated total at second base, when he was usually moved to place Royce Lewis at first and keep Brooks Lee at third.

That drop impacted all of Clemens’ defense; he finished with 576 innings at second base, 47.5% of his 1,212 innings throughout the season. At first base, he played 366 innings, his second-highest total, occupying the remaining 270 innings in right field (132), left field (88) and center field (49).

Clemens’ Versatility Opens More Than One Door

The question is whether it would be more beneficial for the Twins to trust again that Lewis can respond as the starting first baseman after a disappointing offensive season, leaving Clemens as the best option for second base. Minnesota will have the opportunity to find playing time as starters to develop talented players such as outfielders Alan Roden (0.3 fWAR), Emmanuel Rodriguez (0.2) and Walker Jenkins (0.1), who showed credentials by combining for a positive 0.6 fWAR in the 235 plate appearances they were able to get during the second half of the season.

So, in turn, that move could leave room for the team to focus on looking for a free agent who can strengthen the offense, without forgetting that the team’s owner, Tom Pohlad, has also promised to increase the payroll and spend more heading into 2027.

Clemens should be the full-time owner of second base, but I also would not rule out the Twins getting rid of designated hitter Josh Bell and looking for a free agent to take over first base. Whatever the process may be, I also would not be surprised if the Twins found a second baseman and ended up moving Clemens to first. Any of those moves would be possible because of the great advantage Clemens has offered the roster, adding, beyond his productive bat, interesting defensive versatility.

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