Minneapolis – When the Minnesota Twins picked up Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens off the waiver wire, they didn’t know what to expect immediately upon joining their new organization.
Bride arrived first ahead of Minnesota’s three-game road trip to Atlanta. Clemens arrived 10 days later, after Luke Keaschall went on the IL for a two-month stint with a broken forearm. A month later, the two had been in the lineup regularly, were key contributors during the Twins’ 13-game win streak, and stepped up in more ways than expected.
“They’ve been one of the main reasons why we’ve been able to keep this run of good baseball going,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the two newest Twins. “They’ve come up great in situations where we’ve needed them. If those guys don’t play the way they way they’ve played, we’re not sitting here winning as many games.”
“I mean it’s big time,” said Clemens on their opportunities with the Twins. “As soon as two guys like us we’re getting DFA’d and not really knowing what was going to happen in the future. For us to find a spot here and fit in, not only fill a role but to contribute and stuff like that, it’s been amazing.”
Both have played in 18 games with the Twins. Clemens has had big moments, including hitting a home run at Fenway, and has accumulated a .319/.396/.723 slash line along with four big home runs and 11 RBI.
Bride is still searching for his first home run in a Twins uniform. However, he has a .289/.340/.333 slash line and can get on base. He has helped other guys in the lineup, like Clemens, have big moments, like his walk-off against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday.
“I think the first day I got here, they sat me down and gave me a presentation of what went good for me in the past, and my hands were in a much higher position than in the past,” said Bride, who was 4-for-40 with the Marlins this season before the Twins acquired him.
“So I’ve just been working with that, and it’s starting to feel more and more comfortable. I’m definitely thankful for them giving that recommendation, I feel like we’ve just been working off that.”
Clemens and Bride have succeeded because Minnesota has created unique roles for them. Bride typically gets starts any time the Twins face off against left-handed pitching, and Clemens does the same against righties, giving starters like Brooks Lee or Willi Castro a day off from second base.
“I think the at-bats have been much better, seeing more success, especially early on, so I’m trying to build off that,” Bride said. “Then, when I’m in on defense, whenever I hit, I’m just trying to be ready whenever my name’s called and trying to be ready to help the team win. Obviously, this team’s been really hot the last couple of weeks, and it’s been a blast.”
“I’ve had that bench role for my whole big league career until now,” said Clemens. “It’s a hard job. I tell everybody who has that role that it’s one of the hardest jobs in the world to produce in that spot. And I’m very blessed to be in a spot right now to get into that rhythm and show what I’m capable of doing.”
“We just put them out there,” said Baldelli. “We’ve just thrown them out there in the games, challenged them, and they stepped up. That’s a great feeling when you have guys come in, take some ownership of what you’re handing them, go play good baseball for you, and work hard every day and be good in that room.”
Even with the impending returns of Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner from their IL stints, Clemens and Bride have worked themselves into positions where they don’t have to worry about what could happen with their roster spots because of how well they’ve performed. Their positional flexibility allows Castro and Lee to have better-balanced roles for where they play or whenever Correa, Royce Lewis, or Ty France need a day off.
However, for a couple of guys who joined the team in the middle of a bad start to the season, Bride and Clemens have exceeded their expectations to help get the Twins on the right track and back into contention heading into the summer months. That makes Baldelli all the more appreciative of the front office’s decisions to get them on this team.
“There are a number of guys that you can point to that have led the way,” said Baldelli, “but those two guys, they weren’t with us at the beginning of the year, and now they are with us. We’re lucky they’re here.”
