How Kody Clemens almost missed his call-up to Detroit Tigers; 'meet us at this Home Depot'
Kody Clemens started his Monday morning in Ohio, driving from Toledo toward Columbus. He stopped at a Home Depot in Bowling Green, received some huge news and ended up in the Detroit Tigers' clubhouse at Comerica Park in Detroit.
All of this by 11:45 a.m., ahead of a 1:10 p.m. first pitch.
"It was crazy," Clemens said.
What happened Monday was the prequel to Tuesday, when Clemens — a 26-year-old prospect and the son of Roger Clemens — is expected to make his MLB debut in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins. He is scheduled to face right-hander Cole Sands.
To call up Clemens, the Tigers needed to complete several phone calls. Triple-A Toledo manager Lloyd McClendon and bench coach Tony Cappuccilli traveled to Columbus in a car together. Clemens, like some other players, took off in his own car. All the equipment was on the team bus. The vehicles were within a 10-mile radius.
Eventually, McClendon called Clemens. Here's how Clemens remembers the conversation, one he will never forget.
McClendon: "Where are you?"
Clemens: "I'm on the highway."
McClendon: "How far out? What exit?"
Clemens: "185. What's going on?"
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McClendon: "You need to turn around, come to 179 and meet us at this Home Depot parking lot."
Clemens inquired about the bus, trying to make sense of the odd request. He wanted to know if it broke down. McClendon wouldn't give him an answer. Clemens, about 10 minutes away from his Triple-A manager, tried to hang up the phone, but McClendon objected.
"I'll call you when I get close," Clemens said.
"No, no, no," McClendon said. "I'll stay on the phone."
They chatted about random topics, and when Clemens showed up to the Home Depot parking lot, McClendon was standing outside, eagerly awaiting his arrival. McClendon always gets to tell the Triple-A players that they're headed to play for the Tigers.
That message was delivered to Clemens in a Home Depot parking lot in Bowling Green, Ohio.
"I was like, 'Holy (expletive). All right, let's go,'" Clemens said.
'I just kept grinding'
A roster spot for Clemens opened Monday morning.
The Tigers placed outfielder Robbie Grossman on the 10-day injured list with a neck strain. There were three healthy and available position players on the 40-man roster: Clemens, Zack Short and Brendon Davis.
Clemens turned his car around and drove north to Detroit.
"If he can come up and do what he's done in Triple-A, it'll be nice boost for us and a nice addition to the lineup," Tiger manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's going to create some crazy defensive alignments. Replacing Robbie, who's all outfield, with an infielder is a challenge, but his bat is what got him here."
Clemens, a left-handed hitter, played 45 games for Triple-A Toledo this season, hitting .283 with nine doubles, six triples, eight home runs, 31 RBIs, 10 walks and 52 strikeouts. His .527 slugging percentage paced the Mud Hens.
In April, Clemens hit .290 with four homers in 21 games.
He thought he would get called up, and a couple times, the Tigers considered bringing him to the big leagues. Clemens joined the Tigers' 40-man roster last November, and he was raking while the Tigers were struggling, so it made sense for both sides to think about a promotion.
"I know how it goes," Clemens said. "I mean, it's the big leagues. There's guys here that need to keep getting in the lineup and getting back into the rhythm. I understood it. The first couple weeks, I was super hot. I was feeling like it was going to happen."
But the Tigers never called him up, not until Monday morning.
"I just kept grinding down there," Clemens said.
Clemens is an interesting prospect because of his swing from the left side of the plate, better against right-handed pitchers. He is a former third-round pick, taken No. 79 overall in the 2018 draft out of Texas. That year, he was one of the best players in college baseball.
He now projects as a utility player. His glove grants opportunities, and his bat determines his value. The Tigers don't know if Clemens will thrive against big leaguers, but they're about to get a first look at him, along with the rest of baseball and its fans.
Clemens attracts attention because of his last name.
Riding the rocket
Clemens said he is thankful he is a position player, so he doesn't feel like he has to live up to his father, Roger Clemens, an 11-time All-Star, seven-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champion, with a 3.12 career ERA and 4,672 strikeouts.
When Kody found out about his MLB debut, he called his family and friends while driving to Comerica Park. He pulled jokes on some of them, before quickly revealing he was on his way to the big leagues.
Roger, who spend the morning texting with Hinch, scrambled to figure out how to get to Detroit. Kody is Roger's youngest of four sons, and he's the first to reach the majors.
"He was like, 'You're a big-leaguer, kid,'" Kody said. "It was awesome."
Kody is wearing No. 21 for the Tigers, the same number Roger sported with the Boston Red Sox (1984-96) and Toronto Blue Jays (1997-98).
"It's cool," Kody said. "I mean, obviously I'm trying to create my own career path here. But to wear his number, it's awesome."
'He's earned that'
Part of Clemens' career path is versatility. When he got to Comerica Park, Hinch asked him to rank his positions. Clemens is a true second baseman but also plays, in order by rank of comfortability, first base, third base, left field and right field.
The Tigers drafted Clemens as a second baseman.
Until Hinch showed up, that's likely all he was ever going to be. The transformation to utility player is a taste of Hinch's hand at work across the entire organization. Hinch opened avenues for Clemens' ascent to the majors, and Clemens put in the work to learn new positions.
"As soon as we got A.J., a couple years back, he took me into his office and he said, 'Hey, do you play anywhere else?' It was the first conversation I had in my career about playing other positions," Clemens said. "I was like, 'You know, I really played a lot of third base in college. I'll play third base, I'll play outfield, wherever you want. I've never moved around at all in my career.'
"He was like, 'You know what, we're going to throw you in at first base in a spring training game.' The following two years, I've been just rotating around, playing the outfield, third, second, first."
In 2021, Clemens played 72 games at second base, 24 games in right field, seven games at first base and one game at third base. This season, he has played 18 games at second base, 11 at third base, 10 in left field and eight at first base.
Without defensively versatility, Clemens would not have been called up this time. The Tigers have Jonathan Schoop, one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball who is starting to heat up at the plate.
Expect Clemens to see the most action at first base, third base and at the corner outfield spots. He does more damage against right-handed pitchers, so he should get plenty of reps.
The Tigers don't want him to try to do too much, as the team's quiet offense needs to get back on track. Four of the last five games resulted in wins. Consistent run production is the next hurdle to cross.
But Clemens' job isn't to save the Tigers.
He just needs to be Kody Clemens.
"We don't need him to be superman," Hinch said. "He's not the answer to all of our problems, but this is an opportunity for him to elbow his way into the big leagues for the first time, and he's earned that."