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

[IndianaTwin]

57 minutes 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. 

 

I'm not sure that signing Bride/Clemens is a fair comparison to not bringing up McCusker. The infielders on the roster when they signed those two were France, Julien, Correa and Gasper. They didn't need "a body" when they traded for/signed Bride and Clemens. They needed "a body who can passably play several infield spots." That's not McCusker. 

With a three-man non-catcher bench, you can't have a player short of Nelson Cruz who is a full-time DH (and we'll see, but it seems likely that Lewis may well be doing a lot of DHing). So a position is needed. The question then needs to be why Kiersey is up rather than McCusker. I don't know whether McCusker's defensive chops or his speed are anywhere close to Kiersey's, but it seems likely Kiersey's what's keeping McCusker in St. Paul.

[Jocko87]

1 hour 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.

Had Clemens and Bride not been available we would have likely had Alverez and Fitzgerald. Always take the outside disposable option before the internal. They will get a chance in a month or two after Clemens or Bride are long gone and another injury mix happens.

I'm the opposite of a logjam guy, for sure, and picking your long term stalwarts correctly is much different from the guys that get you through tough patches.

Until Lewis and Castro look full speed Bride and Clemens are more important than McCusker. Lewis looks about 50% and Castro didn't have a rehab. It's a long season.

[Riverbrian]

9 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

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.

When Bride was traded for CASH after getting DFA'd by the Marlins. We had Larnach, Buxton, Bader and Keirsay for the OF. We had Correa, France, Lee, Keashall, Julien and Castro in injury purgatory while they waited to make an IL call on him. Correa had also tweaked something so... OK... I can kinda see the need for Bride but let's be clear that we also didn't have a very good offense at the time. 

Later when we trade for Clemens for CASH after getting DFA'd. We had Larnach, Buxton, Bader and Keirsay for the OF. We had a healthy Correa, France, Lee, Julien, Bride and Gasper and let's be clear that we also didn't have a very good offense at the time. 

You're reasoning isn't completely off base and I'm sure the Twins front office can justify the moves and I'm certainly not going to say that McCusker is going to be the next Rooker. But... Yeah... I'm saying that the Twins are reluctant and whatever the reluctance. It's a development problem. 

 

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Today was 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? 

It's a symptom of trying to be an 85 win team every year. That means your draft position is not that great and you never deal vets for prospects at the deadline.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

2 hours ago, Fred said:

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.

Thank you Fred. I remember a post (not you) that said the only thing keeping Kiersey from being a 4 WAR player was Rocco not playing him. It seems to be pretty obvious why he was constantly getting passed over.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible that management and the FO know more about these players than we-as-fans do. There may be real reasons why McCusker is where he is.  

[DJL44]

20 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

I'm not sure that signing Bride/Clemens is a fair comparison to not bringing up McCusker. The infielders on the roster when they signed those two were France, Julien, Correa and Gasper. They didn't need "a body" when they traded for/signed Bride and Clemens. They needed "a body who can passably play several infield spots." That's not McCusker. 

They needed a bat more than they needed an infielder. They were starting Mickey Gasper at DH regularly and Clemens got a start in the outfield.

If your analysis is correct, then there isn't any room for Wallner when he returns. He'll have to wait in AAA until an injury opens up a spot in the outfield.

[Riverbrian]

10 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

It's a symptom of trying to be an 85 win team every year. That means your draft position is not that great and you never deal vets for prospects at the deadline.

Yep and eventually there is a bill to pay. 

[IndianaTwin]

3 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.

Not trying to be flippant, but I think they see Fitzgerald's job as filling a defensive spot while the pitchers develop. In other words, any team is going to realistically have only so many prospects, so you need other players to fill out the roster so the prospects have enough guys around them to field a full team. Theoretically they could have brought up Fitzgerald rather than Clemens, but then you have to sign a Clemens to play in St. Paul.

UNLESS, and here's where we turn to your development point. On one level, I can agree with you about a lack of development, BUT I also have to recognize that there are very few franchises that have a development system to the point where they have legitimate prospects in all positions in AAA.

So, or example, I don't follow the minors closely enough, so forgive me if Anthony Prato is an actual prospect. But I'm guessing he's mostly on the St. Paul roster to cover injuries and to fill a spot because Walker Jenkins is perceived as not developmentally ready for AAA (and right now, of course, also injured). IF, for example, later in the season, Wallner and other major league OFs are healthy and Kiersey gets sent down AND Emma was healthy and productive AND Jenkins has earned himself a spot in AAA, Prato wouldn't get much outfield time. But those aren't the case, so you need Prato on the roster.

Similarly, on the pitcher side, Dobnak's contract is a factor, but his primary purpose on the St. Paul roster is that true prospects like Festa, Matthews, Morris and Raya can't cover all the starts and no true prospects in Wichita have been deemed ready for AAA.      

[Major League Ready]

19 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

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

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

They could easily swap McCusker for Keirsey.  I don't see Bride or Clemens as all that relevant to bringing up McCusker.  It would be a trade-off between a pinch runner / late inning defensive replacement in Keirsey for the possibility of an additional bat.  Short-term,  Keirsey is probably the better fit but I like the idea of seeing if McCusker can hit ML pitching.  They could always go back to Keirsey or more likely Martin if McCusker does not work-out.  The best case scenario would be E. Rodriguez gets going.

[stringer bell]

3 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

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 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 was 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.   

I agree with your big picture view and the pre-arb numbers do tell a story about development and the current roster. I am much less convinced that McCusker is the poster child for the Twins problems and that not promoting him is why they have failed to build a solid offense. 

From what I know, McCusker is another bat-first or perhaps bat-only player and he's older (27) and was previously not thought to be a prospect. What would his role be on the current Twins roster? Would he be starting only against left handed pitching and would he be DHing? Is it worth the 40-man manipulations to get a guy like him to the majors to perform a limited role? 

Given the resumé, it is tough to believe McCusker would amount to more than a role player. I can't think of many, if any, guys that broke into MLB at 27 or later and became solid everyday regulars or All-Stars, especially when they were non-prospects to start with. You mentioned Rooker, but he was a first round draft choice. Pedigree is another filter IMHO.

Filling the position player roster with non-athletic "if you're not hitting, you're not helping" type players is what I see is the biggest flaw in the Twins roster. They can't be 100 OPS+ types and help the team. Putting and veneer of positional flexibility over that doesn't really help, but it's kind of necessary if the 40-man has 23-25 pitchers. 

I don't know for a fact but I suspect there are red flags in McCusker's hitting overview. The strikeout numbers must be showing something that makes it difficult to impossible to translate his success at Triple A to the majors. Good luck to him and I hope he keeps raking. Maybe he's the exception to the rule and has a solid major league career. 

[Mike Sixel]

6 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Not trying to be flippant, but I think Fitzgerald's job is to fill a defensive while the pitchers develop. In other words, any team is going to realistically have only so many prospects, so you need other players to fill out the roster so the prospects have enough guys around them to field a full team. Theoretically they could have brought up Fitzgerald rather than Clemens, but then you have to sign a Clemens to play in St. Paul.

UNLESS, and here's where we turn to your development point. On one level, I can agree with you, BUT I also have to recognize that there are very few franchises that have a development system to the point where they have legitimate prospects in all positions in AAA.

So, or example, I don't follow the minors closely enough, so forgive me if Anthony Prato is an actual prospect. But I'm guessing he's mostly on the St. Paul roster to cover injuries and to fill a spot because Walker Jenkins is perceived as not developmentally ready for AAA (and right now, of course, also injured). IF, for example, later in the season, Wallner and other major league OFs are healthy and Kiersey gets sent down AND Emma was healthy and productive AND Jenkins has earned himself a spot in AAA, Prato wouldn't get much outfield time. But those aren't the case, so you need Prato on the roster.

Similarly, on the pitcher side, Dobnak's contract is a factor, but his primary purpose on the St. Paul roster is that true prospects like Festa, Matthews, Morris and Raya can't cover all the starts and no true prospects in Wichita have been deemed ready for AAA.      

They have one developmental guy in AAA, Rodriguez. No other non pitching prospects. That's an issue. 

I agree, it is unrealistic to expect them to be filled with MLB ready players, but they have one, other than Miranda and Julien, who it isn't clear are prospects anymore. 

[LambchoP]

Just bring him up already. Keirsey is a wasted roster spot. He has what, two hits all year? Send him down and call up Mccusker. He can DH and platoon with Larnach until Wallner gets healthy.

[DJL44]

13 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Just bring him up already. Keirsey is a wasted roster spot. He has what, two hits all year? Send him down and call up Mccusker. He can DH and platoon with Larnach until Wallner gets healthy.

I think his window closed when Lewis and Castro returned. Lewis is going to take the DH spot and Castro is going to play more in the outfield. If he's patient and healthy, the window will open again.

[NYCTK]

51 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

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

I can assure you other teams hire veterans on short term deals as well. It'd be incredibly stupid NOT to hire veterans on short term deals. 

53 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Some sings the praises of the 1 year rental of Solono...Michael A. Taylor... Joey Gallo... WIlli Castro...Kyle Farmer...Bader, France

1.6 + 1.9 + 0.5 + 4.2 + 1.3 + 0.0 bWAR 

People "sing the praises" of these veterans because they help make a team better for little cost and little risk. Yes, there's less "risk" and cost to throwing AAAA players like Keirsey out there, but there's way less upside too. 

58 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I have a big problem with the idea of needing Bader

You appear to have a fundamental problem with how rosters are constructed. Bader was very clearly a great signing from the moment it was announced. Every single team in the major leagues needs players like Bader. Cleveland has short term vets. Detroit has short term vets. Even the Rays utilize short term vets. 

I'm so over people complaining about veterans that don't happen to be brought up in the Twins system. It's not some failure of an organization to bring someone in on a one year deal or claim a player off of waivers. A team cannot have depth at every single position on the diamond...unless you're the Dodgers with both an all star team and a top of the league farm system. 

Now, are Bride and Clemens good? No. But I'd argue Bride is better than the AAA depth. Clemens sucks and I would happily see him DFA'd for McCusker. But much like teams claiming bullpen arms, it's just part of major league roster construction. I don't expect Clemens to be here in a month, so don't buy his player jersey. 

 

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

They needed a bat more than they needed an infielder. They were starting Mickey Gasper at DH regularly and Clemens got a start in the outfield.

If your analysis is correct, then there isn't any room for Wallner when he returns. He'll have to wait in AAA until an injury opens up a spot in the outfield.

Though they got a few starts, their primary role on the roster was still "backup infield depth," which McClusker can't provide. They had a total of five combined starts in a window of time when the return of Lewis and Castro was seen as imminent. Every one of Gasper's starts at DH, for example, was with the hope that no one would be getting hurt before Lewis arrived to give Gasper a demotion. 

Keep in mind that I'm not arguing for Kiersey over McCusker. I'm just saying that's the comparison the Twins are making. McCusker isn't fighting Bride/Clemens for a job -- he's fighting Kiersey. Right or wrong, it seems they don't (yet) see the upgrade from Kiersey to McCusker offensively to be worth the downgrade on defense/baserunning.

I think the perceived improvement from Kiersey to Wallner is large enough that they would send Kiersey down in his place if he magically became healthy tomorrow. That's ignoring the health elsewhere. For example, having Castro available now also makes it easier to send Kiersey down. 

 

[Mike Sixel]

To be clear, I'd like to see him get a shot, but.....

It's not egregious he hasn't. 

I'm not convinced he'll hit, but he's more likely than some that have started at DH....

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Thank you Fred. I remember a post (not you) that said the only thing keeping Kiersey from being a 4 WAR player was Rocco not playing him. It seems to be pretty obvious why he was constantly getting passed over.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible that management and the FO know more about these players than we-as-fans do. There may be real reasons why McCusker is where he is.  

Projects as a 230/280/390 hitter with bad defense. Not exactly a sparkling prospect or someone I'm worried about missing out on. But, like Keirsey last season, I'd like to see him get some playing time since there is clearly an occasional hole he can fit with Wallner out another month yet. 

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, IndianaTwin said:

Not trying to be flippant, but I think Fitzgerald's job is to fill a defensive while the pitchers develop. In other words, any team is going to realistically have only so many prospects, so you need other players to fill out the roster so the prospects have enough guys around them to field a full team. Theoretically they could have brought up Fitzgerald rather than Clemens, but then you have to sign a Clemens to play in St. Paul.

UNLESS, and here's where we turn to your development point. On one level, I can agree with you, BUT I also have to recognize that there are very few franchises that have a development system to the point where they have legitimate prospects in all positions in AAA.

So, or example, I don't follow the minors closely enough, so forgive me if Anthony Prato is an actual prospect. But I'm guessing he's mostly on the St. Paul roster to cover injuries and to fill a spot because Walker Jenkins is perceived as not developmentally ready for AAA (and right now, of course, also injured). IF, for example, later in the season, Wallner and other major league OFs are healthy and Kiersey gets sent down AND Emma was healthy and productive AND Jenkins has earned himself a spot in AAA, Prato wouldn't get much outfield time. But those aren't the case, so you need Prato on the roster.

Similarly, on the pitcher side, Dobnak's contract is a factor, but his primary purpose on the St. Paul roster is that true prospects like Festa, Matthews, Morris and Raya can't cover all the starts and no true prospects in Wichita have been deemed ready for AAA.      

Yeah, putting Fitzgerald on the major league team screws up the organizational "depth" chart. They have no desire to put him on the 40 man roster, and then if he were he'd have to go through waivers to get back to AAA I believe. And then he could opt for Free Agency? 

He's not depth. He's just AAA filler. It's this or go off to Korea for players like Fitzgerald. 

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Would he be starting only against left handed pitching and would he be DHing? Is it worth the 40-man manipulations to get a guy like him to the majors to perform a limited role? 

The Guardians have Johnsky Noel in that role essentially. That's basically McCusker's upside. Pretty bad player, that will occasionally come up with some big dramatic hit for you. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

11 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

I think the perceived improvement from Kiersey to Wallner is large enough that they would sent Kiersey down in his place. That's ignoring the health elsewhere. For example, having Castro available also makes it easier to send Kiersey down. 

Keep in mind that I'm not arguing for Kiersey over McCusker. I'm just saying that's the comparison the Twins are making. McCusker isn't fighting Bride/Clemens for job -- he's fighting Kiersey. Right or wrong, it seems they don't (yet) see the upgrade from Kiersey to McCusker offensively to be worth the downgrade on defense/baserunning.

I agree but I think the situation has changed now that Castro is back. Before then, you almost had to keep a guy like Keirsey around to be your fourth outfielder who can actually play the outfield. Now, Castro can be your fourth outfielder and play a decent corner and passable centerfield. We’re really talking about the fifth outfielder so Kiersey’s  two big calling cards, speed, and defense, become less important. I think offensive production now becomes paramount, particularly with Bader around to be your strong fielding 3rd/4th outfielder. I think the need to keep Keirsey on the roster is now over. I would call up McCusker and see if he can hit while Wallner is still out. If he can, we just found another guy for the roster. If he can’t, he goes back down when Wallner shows up. I was a big fan of calling Keirsey up last year, but he’s had his chance and what he has shown is that he can’t currently hit major league pitching. There is an open window, let’s see if McCusker can.

 

[IndianaTwin]

31 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I agree but I think the situation has changed now that Castro is back. Before then, you almost had to keep a guy like Keirsey around to be your fourth outfielder who can actually play the outfield. Now, Castro can be your fourth outfielder and play a decent corner and passable centerfield. We’re really talking about the fifth outfielder so Kiersey’s  two big calling cards, speed, and defense, become less important. I think offensive production now becomes paramount, particularly with Bader around to be your strong fielding 3rd/4th outfielder. I think the need to keep Keirsey on the roster is now over. I would call up McCusker and see if he can hit while Wallner is still out. If he can, we just found another guy for the roster. If he can’t, he goes back down when Wallner shows up. I was a big fan of calling Keirsey up last year, but he’s had his chance and what he has shown is that he can’t currently hit major league pitching. There is an open window, let’s see if McCusker can.

 

Sorry, I think you were typing this while I was editing my previous comment to include a Castro reference.

I agree that a healthy Castro changes the perceived need for Kiersey. If the Twins are seeing it the same way, I suspect they'll give it a couple days with Castro to make sure he's good to go. At that point, particularly if the offense is still struggling, I'd be fine with sending Kiersey down.  

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

Had Clemens and Bride not been available we would have likely had Alverez and Fitzgerald. Always take the outside disposable option before the internal. They will get a chance in a month or two after Clemens or Bride are long gone and another injury mix happens.

I'm the opposite of a logjam guy, for sure, and picking your long term stalwarts correctly is much different from the guys that get you through tough patches.

Until Lewis and Castro look full speed Bride and Clemens are more important than McCusker. Lewis looks about 50% and Castro didn't have a rehab. It's a long season.

Why "always take the outside disposable option before the internal?" The internal comes with options. Alvarez and Fitzgerald can be optioned to AAA while Clemens and Bride can't. So when the needs of the team change the Twins don't have to worry about DFAing guys and the dread of possibly losing these replaceable players, thus handcuffing themselves to guys like Bride and Clemens, they can simply send them down and call up a guy who better fits the roster's needs at the time. So, why "always take the outside disposable option?" Because they aren't disposing of them. They're putting them in the starting lineup. 

[IndianaTwin]

40 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Yeah, putting Fitzgerald on the major league team screws up the organizational "depth" chart. They have no desire to put him on the 40 man roster, and then if he were he'd have to go through waivers to get back to AAA I believe. And then he could opt for Free Agency? 

He's not depth. He's just AAA filler. It's this or go off to Korea for players like Fitzgerald. 

Yes, Fitzgerald fits the term "organizational depth." I suspect that's the next step in Clemens' career progression. The injury to Lee and Julien's regression just delayed that a bit. 

[Jocko87]

1 minute ago, chpettit19 said:

Why "always take the outside disposable option before the internal?" The internal comes with options. Alvarez and Fitzgerald can be optioned to AAA while Clemens and Bride can't. So when the needs of the team change the Twins don't have to worry about DFAing guys and the dread of possibly losing these replaceable players, thus handcuffing themselves to guys like Bride and Clemens, they can simply send them down and call up a guy who better fits the roster's needs at the time. So, why "always take the outside disposable option?" Because they aren't disposing of them. They're putting them in the starting lineup. 

Because the internal options limit them to 40 guys, now they effectively have 42.  It's just a numbers game of interchangeable options, not really a baseball decision.

[IndianaTwin]

15 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Why "always take the outside disposable option before the internal?" The internal comes with options. Alvarez and Fitzgerald can be optioned to AAA while Clemens and Bride can't. So when the needs of the team change the Twins don't have to worry about DFAing guys and the dread of possibly losing these replaceable players, thus handcuffing themselves to guys like Bride and Clemens, they can simply send them down and call up a guy who better fits the roster's needs at the time. So, why "always take the outside disposable option?" Because they aren't disposing of them. They're putting them in the starting lineup. 

I was okay with rolling the dice on Bride in the spot they were in and with what they currently had as infielders in St. Paul. He'd gotten off to a horrible start this year, but he had a 122 OPS+ last year in 272 plate appearances. 

Less interested in Clemens. I think if Julien hadn't fallen off the map, Clemens would have been booted instead. Something's going to change before this happens, but if Keaschall were magically healthy tomorrow, I'd think Clemens would be gone as well. 

I think they've been more willing to play the churning game on the pitching side (Jay, Staumont, Tonkin, Boushley, Bowman...) than on the position side. 

[Doctor Gast]

You probably know by now that I'm a big in-house supporter. I'd love to see them bring McCusker up & him do well. But right now, the OF is looking pretty good with Buxton, Bader, Larnach, Keirsey & Castro; I just don't see it right now. Last year, with Margot on the roster, we really needed Keirsey, but that really didn't happen until everything was lost.

Many say that Keirsey, being 27 last year, that analytics say that he has no chance because of it & Twins are right for not giving him a fair chance. How is McCusker (27) any different? Do you think McCusker can do anything if he's given the same chance as Keirsey? Let him only play against LHPs & PH for him when a RHP comes in.

Many become enamored with HRs & many compare McCusker to Sano because of his Ks. The League has hitters like them figured out; they are less likely to make it in the MLB. Keirsey is more of a pure hitter & he has difficulty adjusting to the MLB pitchers (most rookies would) under those impossible situations, IMO, McCusker will have more difficulty & wouldn't be able to contribute defensively or on the bases. 

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, IndianaTwin said:

Not trying to be flippant, but I think they see Fitzgerald's job as filling a defensive spot while the pitchers develop. In other words, any team is going to realistically have only so many prospects, so you need other players to fill out the roster so the prospects have enough guys around them to field a full team. Theoretically they could have brought up Fitzgerald rather than Clemens, but then you have to sign a Clemens to play in St. Paul.

UNLESS, and here's where we turn to your development point. On one level, I can agree with you about a lack of development, BUT I also have to recognize that there are very few franchises that have a development system to the point where they have legitimate prospects in all positions in AAA.

So, or example, I don't follow the minors closely enough, so forgive me if Anthony Prato is an actual prospect. But I'm guessing he's mostly on the St. Paul roster to cover injuries and to fill a spot because Walker Jenkins is perceived as not developmentally ready for AAA (and right now, of course, also injured). IF, for example, later in the season, Wallner and other major league OFs are healthy and Kiersey gets sent down AND Emma was healthy and productive AND Jenkins has earned himself a spot in AAA, Prato wouldn't get much outfield time. But those aren't the case, so you need Prato on the roster.

Similarly, on the pitcher side, Dobnak's contract is a factor, but his primary purpose on the St. Paul roster is that true prospects like Festa, Matthews, Morris and Raya can't cover all the starts and no true prospects in Wichita have been deemed ready for AAA.      

Oh, I certainly don't expect them to have legitimate prospects in all positions at AAA. But Will Holland is also a glove first, non-legitimate prospect who plays SS at AAA who was already on their roster when they brought in Fitzgerald. So is Anthony Prato. Fitzgerald was them adding a 3rd SS to the roster (I'm not saying 3rd on the depth chart, just 3rd in counting). 

I understand the idea of org filler. And I get that that's part of Fitzgerald's role. But I don't buy this explanation as a useful one for claiming Clemens instead of calling up Fitzgerald. Once the season starts the org filler argument goes out the window for me. I don't care about the AAA roster anymore. How do you best manage your MLB roster? Fitzgerald has options and Clemens doesn't. Which, to the Twins at least, means Clemens has to stay because you can't possibly risk losing him yet, but Fitzgerald could be optioned down if another player made more sense on the roster at another point. And if you have to DFA Fitzgerald later, whatever. But instead they've boxed themselves into the Clemens corner. It's not the end of the world, but when you're doing it with multiple roster spots, it starts becoming a bigger issue, in my opinion.

[chpettit19]

16 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Because the internal options limit them to 40 guys, now they effectively have 42.  It's just a numbers game of interchangeable options, not really a baseball decision.

If you refuse to DFA guys then you don't have 42, you have 40. And if the 2 guys you won't DFA are terrible and are still starting games and your refusal to DFA them is stopping you from calling up a player who may actually help, then it is a baseball decision.

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Thank you Fred. I remember a post (not you) that said the only thing keeping Kiersey from being a 4 WAR player was Rocco not playing him. It seems to be pretty obvious why he was constantly getting passed over.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible that management and the FO know more about these players than we-as-fans do. There may be real reasons why McCusker is where he is.  

Huh? I spend several hours every day on TD, plus a couple other sites as well. I've got this mastered. 😀

[DJL44]

20 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Because the internal options limit them to 40 guys, now they effectively have 42.  It's just a numbers game of interchangeable options, not really a baseball decision.

The whole idea behind replacement players is they're pretty easy to obtain. Having a lot of bad players isn't helpful. If you need one in a pinch you pay another team cash to obtain one.