The Twins Offense is Sputtering—So Why is Carson McCusker Still in St. Paul?

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins’ offense continues to sputter with. Day after day, the lineup seems to churn out the same results: light contact, double plays, and missed opportunities. It’s an offense spinning its tires—and for some reason, the front office refuses to tap into a clear and present source of power sitting just 10 miles east on I-94.

Carson McCusker is absolutely crushing the baseball for the St. Paul Saints right now. In 27 games, he’s posted a .991 OPS with 7 home runs and 24 RBIs. He’s a 6-foot-8 power bat with right-handed pop—something the Twins’ offense lacks right now. Minnesota ranks 23rd in slugging percentage, 22nd in home runs,  and too often looks allergic to doing damage. McCusker could be the jolt this lineup needs.

Yet, despite the early-season roster shuffling and injuries to key players like Matt Wallner, McCusker remains in Triple-A. Why?

Sure, he’s not a traditional top prospect. McCusker is nearly 27, was drafted in the 26th round, and spent time in independent ball with the Tri-City ValleyCats before signing with the Twins. But all he’s done since then is mash. Across three seasons in the Twins system, McCusker owns a .867 OPS with 40 home runs in 813 plate appearances. The production is real—and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down.

Yes, there are red flags. His strikeout rate is high, at 34% in the minors—and he’s struck out 253 times compared to just 68 walks. But at some point, doesn’t the upside warrant the risk?

The Twins, after all, used to lean into the “strikeouts-and-slug” identity. The 2023 team broke the record for strikeouts in a season while finishing in the top 10 in essentially every other offensive category. Lately, it seems the pendulum has swung too far the other way. The current offense trades punch for contact and power for passivity, and it’s not working. 

Our own Jamie Cameron described the hitting prowess of McCusker well in his write-up last week:

Quote

It’s close to top-of-the-scale power, with a maximum exit velocity of 114.2 mph and an unbelievable hard-hit rate of over 60%. All that adds up to a 175 wRC+. It’s a little bit reminiscent of Matt Wallner’s profile, from the right side—though, crucially, without the pedigree, track record, and supplementary tools. 

McCusker might not be a complete hitter. He may never be more than a power-first role player. But what he does have is something different. His raw power could help balance a Twins lineup sorely lacking in game-changing bats. With Wallner hurt and Dashawn Keirsey Jr. (2 hits in 26 at-bats) struggling to gain traction, there’s room for a change. Even Kody Clemens—who hit a memorable homer at Fenway—has just two hits outside of that moment.

Why not try something new?

McCusker also offers handedness balance. As a righty, he could be a natural platoon partner with lefties like Larnach or Wallner once they return. The Twins have been chasing a right-handed power bat for what feels like years. It turns out, one might already be in the building.

Will he succeed? Who knows. He could strike out 40% of the time and get sent back to St. Paul in a week. But at a time when the offense is crying out for thunder, isn’t that a risk worth taking?

Carson McCusker may not have the pedigree. But he has the power. And he might be just the shot in the arm this lineup needs.

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What do you think—should the Twins give McCusker a chance? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

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[rhal]

I think you answered your own question. 

[Patzky]

Wallner crushed for six weeks at St Paul before he finally got the call, a few years ago. There were struggles but eventually success. Worst case scenario you show off McCusker and have some trade bait if he succeeds. Best case, well we (would like to) rely on Wallner quite a bit these days.

[awmonahan]

This team is nearing why not territory. 

[chpettit19]

Because if the Twins can claim someone on waivers or sign a one year vet who's best hope is being a league average player they're always going to take that option over relying on their system. We've known this for years. They don't trust their ability to develop players and would rather take their chances with journeymen.

[shimrod]

38 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

They don't trust their ability to develop players

A man's got to know his limitations. 

[mikelink45]

Yes. To me there is no question. He should have already been up and this is just getting silly. It's like last year when we watched walner spend so much time and waste. So many home runs in AAA. I hate this kind of stubborn effort to avoid call-ups. It's not like we have 40 Superstars on our roster. 

[chpettit19]

40 minutes ago, shimrod said:

A man's got to know his limitations. 

I am certainly not going to make a strong argument against their lack of trust. 

On another note: Carson McCusker just hit another HR for the Saints. An absolute bomb. 114.7 MPH off the bat. 426 ft.

[DJL44]

I don't think that's McCusker in the photo.

If I'm the GM, I'm showcasing veterans until they get traded. McCusker can come up once I start dealing some of them off. I'm throwing in the towel on 2025.

[Blyleven2011]

The front office has faith in the players  ( Falvey's word in interview ) ...

The front office has no quts , are slow at making changes or just plain stubborn and has no faith in our prospects ...

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Because if the Twins can claim someone on waivers or sign a one year vet who's best hope is being a league average player they're always going to take that option over relying on their system. We've known this for years. They don't trust their ability to develop players and would rather take their chances with journeymen.

I think it's more about their utter fear of running out of depth. They won't call up someone from AAA if it means losing a player off the roster unless they just have no choice or the vet has become utterly unplayable. I think it's a real mistake, but the scars from a few years ago when we ran out of outfielders appear to run deep.

[chpettit19]

10 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I think it's more about their utter fear of running out of depth. They won't call up someone from AAA if it means losing a player off the roster unless they just have no choice or the vet has become utterly unplayable. I think it's a real mistake, but the scars from a few years ago when we ran out of outfielders appear to run deep.

I think that's some of it, but when you're picking up Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens over giving McCusker a shot it's not all of it. Bride is 0 for his last 15 or something. You can replace him with any other random waiver pickup at any point in the season.

They really struggle to develop position player talent. I know we like to act like they get decimated by injuries (and they did in 2022), but they really don't. They have injury prone stars, but in terms of quantity they're really just an average MLB team. When they had Lewis, Julien, and Wallner come up from AAA 2 years ago and mash they saw the most success they've had in 2 decades. When they've relied on waiver wire pickups and one year vets it's been far less successful. And I'm not predicting McCusker can do what those 3 did that year, but we know Bride and Clemens aren't going to. And Margot wasn't going to last year. And neither was Farmer. Or Luplow. Or Garlick.

I do think they fear losing their "depth." But I think they also don't trust that they've developed enough people worth risking the depth for. They took a shot on Keaschall, but won't on McCusker. I don't think they think he's good enough. And they very well may be right. I don't think Bride and Clemens types are good enough not to try, though. 

[stringer bell]

I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a chance this year, but just because he's tearing up AAA isn't any guarantee that he'll amount to anything. I see McCusker homered twice today. His OPS is above 1.000, Great numbers to be sure. In a smaller sample size Mickey Gasper has an OPS of 1.500. Some guys can dominate Triple A, but can't make the next step and often it is one weakness, maybe high fast balls or maybe breaking stuff. I also see that McCusker strikes out a lot. I am pretty sure the K number would be even higher in the majors. 

He probably would hit more than Royce Lewis right now, but that is more about Lewis. McCusker reminds me of two guys who played for the Twins after producing boxcar numbers in the minors--Chris Colabello and Mark Funderburk. Colabello had a few moments with the Twins and Toronto, but was out of baseball after three plus years. Funderburk got a couple of callups with the Twins (1981 and 1985). Neither was a game changer.

The Twins need more guys who can help them win games in more than one way. Defense and base running are two of the bigger flaws on the team today and I sincerely doubt that McCusker can help them in those areas. 

It's fun to root for the underdog and a guy like McCusker qualifies, as does Eeles and to some degree Keirsey. These late bloomers and guys from Indy Ball are good stories and if they make the major leagues, it shows what can happen if you pursue your dream, but the chances of really being a helpful piece or more are pretty small. 

I don't come here to bury the Twins field staff or front office, but the fact is that the team has disappointed more often then not since 2019 and have only won one playoff series since the Falvey (and Baldelli) era began. I think they need more position players who are well rounded, first and foremost. That is really what Carson McCusker is.

[Jocko87]

 Because it requires a 40 man move.  That’s it.

It’s May 6th and they already used their early 40 move on Keaschall.  One weird injury after an early DFA will have us shopping the waiver wire again. 

I do like the idea of him as the designated pinch hitter against lefties in the late innings.  But it’s not that time of the year yet.  

[Mike Sixel]

I would 100 percent hate platooning Wallner..........

But McCusker should be up right now. 

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, Jocko87 said:

 Because it requires a 40 man move.  That’s it.

It’s May 6th and they already used their early 40 move on Keaschall.  One weird injury after an early DFA will have us shopping the waiver wire again. 

I do like the idea of him as the designated pinch hitter against lefties in the late innings.  But it’s not that time of the year yet.  

So what? Play to win. Stop playing not to lose.

If they are afraid of losing McCusker, he's worth playing. 

[Jocko87]

Just now, Mike Sixel said:

So what? Play to win. Stop playing not to lose.

If they are afraid of losing McCusker, he's worth playing. 

It’s not McCusker they are worried about losing.  Do you remember just a week ago when they were grabbing at anyone that could stand in the infield?  Those risks haven’t changed.

If they get a chance to put someone on the 60 day, then I could see adding him to the 40 man. Keaschall timeframe might work and if Martin reinjured his hammy badly it might work out.

The risk of cutting Clemens and Lewis or Castro not being right is not a worth taking a flyer on McCusker yet.  

[tony&rodney]

My recommendation is that people watch McCusker play. At least try to watch him in 5-10 games. Carson is not similar at all to those names that have appeared in the comments. He is not a RH hitting Matt Wallner either. He has his weaknesses but has shown steady improvement in the last two years. He has crushed pitchers that other players had trouble with at the plate. If you have not seen him play looking at his stats will not give you a picture. One thing I will say, if the goal is to hit the ball hard no player in the organization is in his class. The stats are only an introduction.

[Mike Sixel]

24 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

It’s not McCusker they are worried about losing.  Do you remember just a week ago when they were grabbing at anyone that could stand in the infield?  Those risks haven’t changed.

If they get a chance to put someone on the 60 day, then I could see adding him to the 40 man. Keaschall timeframe might work and if Martin reinjured his hammy badly it might work out.

The risk of cutting Clemens and Lewis or Castro not being right is not a worth taking a flyer on McCusker yet.  

You're saying they can't replace one of Bride or Clemens or Kiersey? How long do you wait? What's different in a month? The same argument is made then. 

[AlLagoon]

Seriously?

 

This guy would get carved up and served with gravy by MLB level pitching.

[Fred]

Along with the 40 man problem, there are currently 3 guys listed as outfielders at St Paul and one of them is Martin who just reinjured his hammie (I haven't seen anything about severity, yet. That will come today). Just another niggling detail to be managed.

[DJL44]

7 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

You're saying they can't replace one of Bride or Clemens or Kiersey? How long do you wait? What's different in a month? The same argument is made then. 

Those guys are waiver wire talent. They can be replaced at any time with someone else off the waiver wire.

[Fred]

Just to show you what I know, I really wanted them to give Kiersey a shot, and thought the Bader signing was useless. Hey, when I get it wrong, I do a good job of thoroughly being wrong. I also want to see Severino flailing away, so that probably explains them taking him off the 40 man.

[Riverbrian]

9 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

 Because it requires a 40 man move.  That’s it.

It’s May 6th and they already used their early 40 move on Keaschall.  One weird injury after an early DFA will have us shopping the waiver wire again. 

I do like the idea of him as the designated pinch hitter against lefties in the late innings.  But it’s not that time of the year yet.  

The Twins had an open 40 man spot when they chose to trade mere Cash for Bride who was DFA'd by the Marlines and they had an open 40 man spot when they chose to trade mere Cash for Clemens who was DFA'd by the Phillies. 

Both times McCusker could have been that 40 man addition and the Twins chose to go with players that other teams were clearing off of their 40 man roster. 

The Twins have been consistently choosing low value vets over in-house options. They either:

1. Mistakenly don't believe in the talent that they are developing

or

2. They unmistakenly have failed to develop players who only need to clear a bar set by players that have been DFA'd. 

Either way it's a development problem firmly attached to this organization that other organizations don't seem to have. 

If McCusker can't be called up with two open 40 man spots, two open 26 man spots... large number of injuries while he is crushing the crap out of the Ball at AAA and age 27... When? 

Two home runs last night. That's 9 now. A home run every 10 AB's and a .337 BA to boot. 

 

[kenneth frank]

I heard Donald Trump talking the other day about a guy that in his view was "always too late and slow to respond..." I thought he was talking about someone in the Twins front office, but it turned out to be Jerome Powell

[chpettit19]

8 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

It’s not McCusker they are worried about losing.  Do you remember just a week ago when they were grabbing at anyone that could stand in the infield?  Those risks haven’t changed.

If they get a chance to put someone on the 60 day, then I could see adding him to the 40 man. Keaschall timeframe might work and if Martin reinjured his hammy badly it might work out.

The risk of cutting Clemens and Lewis or Castro not being right is not a worth taking a flyer on McCusker yet.  

While I don't totally disagree here, this is also a pretty big indictment of their offseason/player development/team building. We're talking late April, early May here and a pretty normal number of injuries and we're already in need of 2 waiver wire pickups over being able to call up a guy on fire in AAA because you might lose one of those waiver wire pickups?

This isn't aimed at you as I don't remember you being one of these people, but this is also a good reminder for all the "we need to trade away so-and-so because we have a log jam!" people. There's no such thing as a log jam. We can't call up Carson McCusker (and I'm not saying that's the end of the world or he's Wallner 2.0 or anything) because we need Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens? Bride started yesterday. It didn't cost us the game or anything, but he's not just sitting on the bench. He's starting games. Even with Lewis and Castro back. Or Jeffers and Vazquez are starting together. We have an open starting spot that we can't fill because of Bride and Clemens. There's no such thing as a "log jam."

If Ryan Fitzgerald is going to put up a .923 OPS for you while playing SS at your AAA affiliate at the age of 30 and not be good enough depth for you to risk cutting Kody Clemens, then I don't know what purpose Ryan Fitzgerald serves. Certainly not suggesting he is any sort of long-term solution, but he can't come up for a 2 week stint and hit .105 and play solid defense if needed? Why even sign him? Armando Alvarez was brought here specifically to be Jonah Bride, I thought. Isn't that why they signed him this offseason? So they had a Jonah Bride type at AAA and didn't need to be handcuffed to a Bride type at the MLB level if they didn't need to be? Even if they aren't developing enough decent talent of their own, they need to be doing a better job of signing AAA depth that makes it less of a requirement to hold onto Bride and Clemens types out of fear of having to sign you or me to play 3B next week.

[mikelink45]

9 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a chance this year, but just because he's tearing up AAA isn't any guarantee that he'll amount to anything. I see McCusker homered twice today. His OPS is above 1.000, Great numbers to be sure. In a smaller sample size Mickey Gasper has an OPS of 1.500. Some guys can dominate Triple A, but can't make the next step and often it is one weakness, maybe high fast balls or maybe breaking stuff. I also see that McCusker strikes out a lot. I am pretty sure the K number would be even higher in the majors. 

He probably would hit more than Royce Lewis right now, but that is more about Lewis. McCusker reminds me of two guys who played for the Twins after producing boxcar numbers in the minors--Chris Colabello and Mark Funderburk. Colabello had a few moments with the Twins and Toronto, but was out of baseball after three plus years. Funderburk got a couple of callups with the Twins (1981 and 1985). Neither was a game changer.

The Twins need more guys who can help them win games in more than one way. Defense and base running are two of the bigger flaws on the team today and I sincerely doubt that McCusker can help them in those areas. 

It's fun to root for the underdog and a guy like McCusker qualifies, as does Eeles and to some degree Keirsey. These late bloomers and guys from Indy Ball are good stories and if they make the major leagues, it shows what can happen if you pursue your dream, but the chances of really being a helpful piece or more are pretty small. 

I don't come here to bury the Twins field staff or front office, but the fact is that the team has disappointed more often then not since 2019 and have only won one playoff series since the Falvey (and Baldelli) era began. I think they need more position players who are well rounded, first and foremost. That is really what Carson McCusker is.

I'm not sure I understand why you would question mccusker. Until we give him a chance. It's all speculation. And we have seen what the waiver wire pickups look like. So let's try something new. If it doesn't work, what have we lost?

[Trov]

I remember seeing a ton of articles the last couple years about the need to call up a different prospect.  He was a guy that hit very well in AAA, was an older prospect, but fans kept saying give him a shot, over and over.  He finally was given some level of a shot, not regular at bats, but he may have shown why he was not given a shot at MLB.  

I would guess that the team has some serious concerns about McCusker at MLB level.  His K-rate is very concerning.  When you look at production in minors, it is hard to not look at the overall numbers and think that will translate to MLB.  However, sometimes they are feasting on bad pitches, but do not have great at bats, and just making poor minor league pitching, but when they face MLB prospects at AAA they struggle. 

I am not saying McCusker will not have some success, and maybe he should get a shot at 1B or DH.  However, right now Lewis will be filling DH most likely, or rotating several guys through the DH.  Ty France has not been great by any stretch, but he has been average.  McCusker move would say we expect he will be better than average.

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

The Twins had an open 40 man spot when they chose to trade mere Cash for Bride who was DFA'd by the Marlines and they had an open 40 man spot when they chose to trade mere Cash for Clemens who was DFA'd by the Phillies. 

Both times McCusker could have been that 40 man addition and the Twins chose to go with players that other teams were clearing off of their 40 man roster. 

The Twins have been consistently choosing low value vets over in-house options. They either:

1. Mistakenly don't believe in the talent that they are developing

or

2. They unmistakenly have failed to develop players who only need to clear a bar set by players that have been DFA'd. 

Either way it's a development problem firmly attached to this organization that other organizations don't seem to have. 

If McCusker can't be called up with two open 40 man spots, two open 26 man spots... large number of injuries while he is crushing the crap out of the Ball at AAA and age 27... When? 

Two home runs last night. That's 9 now. A home run every 10 AB's and a .337 BA to boot. 

 

He can't play the infield. That's pretty much the entire answer here.

And the reason they are in that position is mostly because Julien and Miranda and Martin aren't good, Lewis Castro and Lee were hurt etcetcetc.

Why they don't have every player on the 40 man beating down the door for playing time is a different discussion, and probably not different than the rest of the league if we are honest.

It's not part of McCusker. The outfield has been mostly healthy and the infield has not.

[Riverbrian]

22 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

While I don't totally disagree here, this is also a pretty big indictment of their offseason/player development/team building. We're talking late April, early May here and a pretty normal number of injuries and we're already in need of 2 waiver wire pickups over being able to call up a guy on fire in AAA because you might lose one of those waiver wire pickups?

This isn't aimed at you as I don't remember you being one of these people, but this is also a good reminder for all the "we need to trade away so-and-so because we have a log jam!" people. There's no such thing as a log jam. We can't call up Carson McCusker (and I'm not saying that's the end of the world or he's Wallner 2.0 or anything) because we need Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens? Bride started yesterday. It didn't cost us the game or anything, but he's not just sitting on the bench. He's starting games. Even with Lewis and Castro back. Or Jeffers and Vazquez are starting together. We have an open starting spot that we can't fill because of Bride and Clemens. There's no such thing as a "log jam."

If Ryan Fitzgerald is going to put up a .923 OPS for you while playing SS at your AAA affiliate at the age of 30 and not be good enough depth for you to risk cutting Kody Clemens, then I don't know what purpose Ryan Fitzgerald serves. Certainly not suggesting he is any sort of long-term solution, but he can't come up for a 2 week stint and hit .105 and play solid defense if needed? Why even sign him? Armando Alvarez was brought here specifically to be Jonah Bride, I thought. Isn't that why they signed him this offseason? So they had a Jonah Bride type at AAA and didn't need to be handcuffed to a Bride type at the MLB level if they didn't need to be? Even if they aren't developing enough decent talent of their own, they need to be doing a better job of signing AAA depth that makes it less of a requirement to hold onto Bride and Clemens types out of fear of having to sign you or me to play 3B next week.

Spot on post.

I can't stand the term log jam. I also don't like the use of the term AAAA.

I don't know... You don't know... the front office doesn't know. If the front office knew... Rooker would still be here. If the front office knew... Julien wouldn't have made the roster. If the front office knew, they wouldn't have signed Vazquez to a 30 million dollar deal and on and on it goes. I don't blame the front office for not knowing. All 30 front offices don't know. 

Nobody can tell me what McCusker will be in the major leagues... I can't tell anybody what McCusker will be in the major leagues and I won't even try but I can guarantee everybody that he will be nothing in the major leagues if he doesn't reach the major leagues and I can tell everyone that the Twins have consistently relied upon a cycle of one year low cost veterans that spend one year with the club only to be replaced by another low cost vet when other clubs are filling that space with pre-arb players who are performing just as well and can be sent down if they can't clear the low bar being set by those players.  

Some sings the praises of the 1 year rental of Solono. I enjoyed watching him play... he still has a major league job but his OPS+ was a notch above average at 110. Some sing the praises of Michael A. Taylor. He played some nice defense and he hit some homers but his OPS+ was a below average 93. Joey Gallo cost 11 Million for... I don't care what his OPS+ was... He was crap. We sing the praises of WIlli Castro who was a DFA pick up that worked out. But, lets be clear... We are paying him 6 million now and his production was 105 and 108. At least Willi had a future with years of club control to come. Kyle Farmer... We sing his praises... OPS+ of 97 and 92 in his two years with the team. I haven't even mentioned Margot yet. 

This year... It's Bader, France with the additions of Bride and Clemens. Don't get me wrong. Bader has done a good job so far. I have never had a problem with Bader specifically  but I have a big problem with the idea of needing Bader. Ty France is costing the minimum and he has done a decent job comparatively to the rest of the team thus far in 2025 with the Twins. However, while we sing his praises for what he has done so far... it's important to point out that he leads the team in plate appearances and his current OPS+ is 97. 

As our Pre-Arb players graduate to Arb we have watched the club strip mine our left handers for parts. 

Today we sit with single digit pre-arb players making the minimum while over half of the major league teams have over half their 26 man roster making the minimum. Why is that? Is it because we have simply failed to develop talent? Is it because they are so risk adverse that they simply prefer the endless string of vets over the endless string of farm raised players. I don't know but either way... it's a development problem and passing over McCusker not once but twice is a symptom of the disease.