Kody Clemens was trying to go to sleep on Friday night around 9:30 p.m. at his Houston home when he got a text from his agent letting him know that he should stay near his phone.
Clemens, who was designated by assignment by the Phillies on Wednesday, had returned home as he waited to hear where he was headed next and sure enough, Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly called shortly to let Clemens know the news: He had been traded to the Twins.
The Twins, who received news on Friday night that Luke Keaschall would be sidelined with a broken forearm after being hit by a pitch, pounced, acquiring the infielder for cash considerations.
“(I’m) pumped to be here,” said Clemens, the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens. “It’s a quick turnaround, but I obviously got the news and my family is super excited and I’m happy to be here.”
Most likely to see playing time on the right side of the infield, Clemens has played parts of four seasons in the majors. This year with the Phillies, he was hitless in six at-bats.
Though he claimed a spot on the Phillies’ roster out of camp, the 29-year-old played sparingly.
“It was a little confusing just because they kept me out of spring training,” Clemens said. “I had a really good spring and then didn’t really get any chance to play. It made sense with the roster construction they have — I’m not dumb to that. I’m just super excited for this opportunity here.”
The opportunity in Minnesota arose because the Twins have a handful of players on the injured list. Keaschall was placed on the IL on Sunday for what is expected to be an extended stay.
Willi Castro (oblique) landed on the injured list days earlier. Royce Lewis (hamstring) has been out since mid-March with a hamstring strain but has started a rehab assignment with St. Paul, and outfielder Matt Wallner is dealing with a hamstring strain of his own and not expected to return soon.
Compounding that is the fact that two other members of the 40-man roster, Jose Miranda and Austin Martin, are both on the injured list at Triple-A, leading to the need for another infielder.
“You really have two options when situations like this come up: You can sit around complaining about it, or you can try to find some answers and make moves and adjust and adapt,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That’s the way we’re going to approach it.”
Briefly
Joe Ryan will start the series finale on Sunday looking to rebound from a tough start in Atlanta during which he gave up three home runs and six runs. The Angels will send José Soriano to the mound. The game time was moved up to 12:40 p.m. CT to with the Timberwolves/Lakers game taking place next door at the Target Center at 2:30 p.m. … After a tough start to the season, reliever Griffin Jax has now turned in three straight scoreless outings, striking out three batters in the seventh inning on Saturday. “(He) looks completely like Griffin,” Baldelli said.
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