Carson McCusker Should Be On The Roster Right Now

I wonder why now. In the next 7 games the Twins look to face one left handed starter. Should he sit the other games. The Mariners have one lefty in the bullpen so they will see almost all right handed pitchers in that 4 game series.

I am for calling him up if he will is worthwhile starting against right handed pitching at least some of the time. Who does he replace in the line up against right handed pitching that improves the team? If calling him just to start that one game in the next 7 against a lefty I think they are better off with Keirsey as the last man on the bench. I don’t think it is reasonable to expect his bat to stay sharp if he is rarely playing. 

If he played defense as well as Keirsey he'd have the job.

The Twins are going with Bader, Buxton and Castro in the OF vs LHP. Do you think McCusker will be better than Bader, Buxton or Castro?

Jeffers has been the DH with Vazquez catching when there is a LH SP. Do you think McCusker is a better DH than Jeffers?

I think the answer to all of those is probably NO, so there is no role for McCusker.

4 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

a diminished Clemens,

Not sure what people have against Clemens. He got the Twins the game winning hit (changed the momentum) to break the losing streak and was responsible for several key hits and defensive plays. Sure he had a slump in between but compared to others on the team, he's been a key player thus far. I like his hustle, his defense (playing multiple positions) and his clutch hitting.

Carson McCusker was given a limited opportunity. As well as Keirsey. During those limited opportunities, they've had very timid approaches. If he's going to be McCrusher at the ML level he needs to be aggressive on pitches in the strike zone. Did he even hit the ball hard once? Not from what I recall. Weak contact and a passive approach wont play at the top level. 

34% K rate against right-handed pitching in AAA, makes him unplayable against righties with the Twins. And it’s tough to carry a guy like that with little/no defensive value when you have to carry a gazzillon relievers.

I’d wait for when the team will face a spate of left-handed starters.

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

At this point SP is not the only consideration since starters seldom go more than 5 innings.  Most likely a left hander will come out of the pen at some point.

I get that. I am also aware that Seattle has one lefty in the pen. If that lefty comes in mid game against Wallner or Larnach would they pinch hit McCusker at that point knowing he will see a right handed pitcher later in the game? Does that also mean he gets at most two at bats against that one lefty starter in the next 7 days and get pulled when a reliever enters?

Most hitters need at bats to stay sharp. If the Twins can see a path where McCusker can help by getting consistent enough at bats they should bring him up. It is hard for me to see that consistent path short of an injury.

You do offer a compelling case.  But Keirsey is the FO 2025 outfield defensive security blanket, whether he hits or not.  Each year since the FO realized how exposed they are with an injured Buxton, they have had to have one.

And Sadly, McCusker does not fill that role.

Frankly, I have never understood the love affair with Bride.  But McCusker cannot replace him, either.

At best, McCusker is stuck unless we have another OF injury happen.

How many years have we been calling for a righthand hitter that plays outfield , even our FO has said so but they continue to give up on trying to find that thumper that hits against righties and lefties ...

McCrusher wasn't given much of a chance except to sit on the bench and get rusty and he hasn't played the same since his return to AAA ( what did falvèys professionals do to him ) ,  they brought up a shortstop that they didn't play either and we have kiersey Jr who plays defense and pinch runner ...

Makes no sense to bring up a player just to sit them , find the right player and if the FO ( do what they do best ) go dumpster diving and hope the get lucky ...

I don't have the answers why we can't hit lefties , blame it on the hitters but the FO hasn't done enough to fill that righthanded need either ...

Let's get some life in this team ...

It's obvious that no Twins decision makers think he has anything to offer the major league club.

It is even more obvious why...

12 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Makes no sense to bring up a player just to sit them , find the right player and if the FO ( do what they do best ) go dumpster diving and hope the get lucky ...

Makes no sense to sit one of your starters just because you needed to add an injury replacement from AAA.

11 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I keep wondering what Eeles might be doing now had he not had his offseason surgery? Would be be a sparkplug for the team? Or would he be languishing for St Paul? And if he keeps doing well, and some of the pop we saw from him last season cones back, do they give him a shot? Or do they keep him down just waiting for Keaschall and that's it?

Eeles has a 561 OPS in AAA. He is not in MLB because he hasn't earned it.

Its hard to judge mccuster on such a limited opportunity.  One issue is that Rocco will  not use a lot of players thr FO sends him.  Several times in his tenure Baldelli hasn't used players at all even with games out of hand or the season out of hand.  He's even not let guys get their major league debut in when the team is way out of contention and family has flown in to watch his debut and never, ever even get in a game during his stay. 

"Intangibles" of bringing someone up from AAA:

Remember when Correa was hurt (bout 2 year ago), B Lee was brought up and was tearing it up....amazing how quickly CC healed from injury and was on the field.

IMO, Larnach and Walner NEED to be "motivated", No penal actions for them not producing (eg Walner's letting in the winning run against Reds, vice just cutting the ball off).

Guarantee: you see McCusker hitting at big league level, and we'll then see a spike in production from Walner/Larnach. 

The young guys bring that youthful exuberance!!

I'd like to see him replace Keirsey on the roster. Keirsey is another left handed OF bat who can't hit. He's just a late game defensive sub and pinch runner. And not even a good pinch runner as he gets caught stealing way too much. Why not give Mccusker a shot and platoon him with Wallner in RF? 

They already have 5 OFers.  (Buxton/Wallner/Larnach/Bader/Castro)  Who is coming off the roster?  Should we DH him over Wallner or Larnach?  They also have a top prospect (Rodriquez) that is eventually going to get a shot and their top prospect (Jenkins) hopefully here sometime next year.  See if he can be taught to play 1B and he might have future value.

1 hour ago, AKTwinsFan said:

Because we got a bald headi coach who can't come up with a consistent roster and lineup. We really should be asking who we gotta get rid of on the relief pitching side. We sold off Alcala but he wasn't the problem, he was actually a decent young arm. Will we ever see the return we got for him? Just like Polanco probably never.

Please tell me this is sarcastic.  Alcala a decent young arm?

21 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Yes bring him up and let him have a real opportunity to sink or swim - with Bride, a diminished Clemens, and Keirsey we have no bats on the bench - give him a chance to prove himself.  And yes we need the bat whether he owns a glove or not.

Baldelli has been notorious for bringing guys up and then sitting them on the bench without giving them the opportunity to see what they can do at the major league level.