The Twins earned a hard-fought 2-1 series win against the Boston Red Sox last weekend. However, Minnesota averaged just 3.33 runs per game in the three-game set, another demonstration of its recent offensive woes. Across MLB, the Twins are 22nd in OPS (.672) and batting average (.236).
Injuries are one of the leading causes of the Twins’ offensive struggles this season. They’re the only reason Mickey Gasper, Kody Clemens and Jonah Bride hold spots on the big league roster.
Bride, who went 4-for-40 to start the season with Miami, has actually been good since joining the Twins, collecting seven hits in 20 at-bats. But there’s no good reason to keep Gasper and Clemens on the team when outfielder Carson McCusker has a .991 OPS for Triple-A St. Paul.
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey should call up outfielder Carson McCusker to wake up Minnesota's struggling offense
Okay, Gasper and Clemens are primary infielders, while McCusker, 26, is an outfielder. Still, The Twins certainly can afford to lose Gasper or Clemens- especially when they will likely be gone when Royce Lewis and Willi Castro return shortly anyway. If anything, the Twins can send down DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in favor of McCusker if Derek Falvey and company are worried about infield depth.
The bottom line is when a team is struggling offensively as badly as the Twins have this season, it has nothing significant to lose in calling up someone like McCusker, who has a .319/.385/.606 batting line with seven home runs and 27 RBI for the Saints this season.
If McCusker ends up unable to hit major-league pitching consistently, Minnesota can just send him down. We know Gasper and Clemens will only get the occasional big hit. And while we don’t know if McCusker’s minor league success can translate to the major league level, he’s hitting well enough to at least earn an opportunity to showcase his skills at the highest level.
Who is Carson McCusker, who has dominated at the plate for the St. Paul Saints this season?
Despite the Brewers selecting him out of junior college in the 26th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, McCusker played four years of baseball at Oklahoma State University then went undrafted after the 2021 season. He subsequently played three years in the independent Frontier League before the Twins signed him to a minor league contract in 2023.
McCusker started 2023 in Single-A Fort Myers before finishing the year with High-A Cedar Rapids. He spent last season in Double-A and Triple-A and has been with the Saints this year. In 808 plate appearances in the Twins organization, McCusker has a .283/.352/.518 slash line with 40 home runs and 135 RBI.
Twins set to face Baltimore Orioles
The Twins are scheduled to begin a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday at Target Field. The probable starting pitchers for Game 1 are Twins righty Pablo López and Orioles lefty Cade Povich.