Kody Clemens wins final bench spot on Phillies' opening day roster, Dave Dombrowski says
The Philadelphia Phillies' 2025 opening-day roster is set. Kody Clemens beat out Buddy Kennedy for the club's final bench spot, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday.
Dombrowski said the Phillies have informed Clemens, the son of former MLB star pitcher Roger Clemens, that he's made the team.
"We've always liked Kody Clemens. We think he's a big-league player," Dombrowski told reporters Monday. "I have to say, like anybody else, if there was the right trade interest, we would have been open-minded to it."
Dombrowski said after talking with manager Rob Thomson, the club determined to keep Clemens over Kennedy despite the latter's perceived advantage of being a right-handed hitter. Clemens will add another left-handed hitter to an already lefty-heavy lineup.
"The basic reality is that [Thomson] thought he wasn't really going to use Buddy very much early in the season anyway," He wasn't going to use him to pinch hit for some of the guys that we have."
Clemens, 28, has played 90 games with the Phillies since coming over from the Detroit Tigers in a trade in the winter of 2022. Last season, the utility player hit .219/.258/.447 with five home runs and 18 RBIs.
The Phillies plan on giving lefties Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler an opportunity to play every day. Johan Rojas will be the club's fourth outfielder and play when Marsh or Kepler has a day off. Dombrowski said that infielder Edmundo Sosa is also an outfield option after getting reps in during spring training.
The Phils designated Kennedy for assignment on Thursday.
Who is on the Phillies' Opening Day roster?
Here's the Phillies' official opening day roster.
Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Rafael Marchán
Infield: Alec Bohm, Kody Clemens, Bryce Harper, Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner,
Outfield: Nick Castellanos, Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas
DH: Kyle Schwarber
Starting pitchers: Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, Taijuan Walker, Zack Wheeler
Relievers: José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Carlos Hernández, Orion Kerkering, Jordan Romano, Joe Ross, José Ruiz, Matt Strahm
Injured list: Ranger Suarez (15-day), Weston Wilson (10-day, retroactive to March 24)
