Twins Take Former Top Prospect Off 40-Man Roster

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Diego Cartaya, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Chris Tilley-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins welcome the Los Angeles Angels to Target Field this weekend. The good news is that they aren’t the juggernauts that the other LA baseball team is. The bad news is they are better than the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota has struggled to beat any team not named the White Sox or Braves this season.

Entering the weekend home series, nothing has come easy for the 9-16 Twins. So, how are they going tocrawl back to .500? One game and one series at a time. Thankfully, they are getting healthier. Royce Lewis starts a rehab assignment in St. Paul on Friday. If all goes well, he’s expected back in the big league lineup in short order.

On Thursday they played with just 25 players on the 26-man roster. That spot was being held for Pablo Lopez, who officially returned to the starting rotation on Friday. But after yet another fringe roster move this afternoon, they’re now down a spot (39) on the 40-man.

Diego Cartaya outrighted by Minnesota Twins

This offseason, the Minnesota Twins swung a trade for Diego Cartaya. The former top 100 prospect had fallen out of favor with the Los Angeles Dodgers and he seemed like a potential reclamation project.

Now struggling at Triple-A, the Twins saw an opportunity to slip him through waivers, and took it, outrighting Cartaya off the 40-man roster. After clearing outright waivers, he’ll remain in St. Paul with the Saints.

The 23-year-old Cartaya has played in seven games for the Saints this season, where he’s batting just .080/.207/.200. He has an 18/4 K/BB. His lone extra-base hit was a home run… for whatever that’s worth.

On Tuesday, against the Indianapolis Indians, Cartaya went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, signaling a move could be on the way. On the bright side, he did recorded a hit in his fifth at-bat… against one of the Indians position players, who were on the mound having fun at the expense of the Saints, during an ugly 16-4 drubbing.

It’s possible that Cartaya plays himself back into the Twins plans, but right now he’s just worried about getting right. The .892 OPS he owned as a 20-year-old in High-A looks like a mirage, at this point. In 2024, Diego Cartay posted a .643 OPS at Triple-A, with the Dodgers organization. Now, he’s down even worse.

Carson McCusker time for the MN Twins?

Although the Minnesota Twins have not yet announce a corresponding move, to bring the 40-man roster back to full-staff. The best candidate seems to be OF Carson McCusker. The former independent ball product was at Target Field on Thursday and even made an appeared on the Twins.TV pre-game show.

McCusker is an undrafted 26-year-old outfielder who’s hard to miss, at 6’8″. On the broadcast yesterday, they compared his physical stature to that of Aaron Judge, especially in the batter’s box. Since joining the Twins organization in 2023, all this kid has done is hit the baseball really hard.

Last year, between Double and Triple-A, the former 26th round pick posted a .282/.353/.488 slash line. He’ll drive some fans crazy with how often he strikes out. But with that hit 19 home runs. In 18 games for St. Paul this season, he owns a .302/.380/.667 line and already has six homers. Tuesday he launched his first career grand slam.

McCusker likely won’t hit for the same average at the big league level, but the power is legit. He would be another developmental success story for the Twins and can play both corner outfield spots. As a right-handed hitter he provides some platoon flexibility with Trevor Larnach, and he should bring more offense than what DaShawn Keirsey Jr. has been able to muster.

It remains to be seen how Minnesota will use the open 40-man spot. Maybe they have something cooking on the trade front. If it’s McCusker though, he’s a guy that could help to spark what has been a dismal offense.

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