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.

Diego Cartaya has cleared outright waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A St. Paul. #MNTwins 40-man is at 39.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) April 25, 2025

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.

This is now a @carson_mccusker stan page. He hits his first ever grand slam. It's his 6th home run of the season for the man that came in 2nd in Triple-A in exit velo at 95.9. (home run was 102.6). He came in 2nd in the IL in slugging (.673) & OPS (1.073) & T3rd in HR. Lead 5-1. pic.twitter.com/ROH2vvx6Zd

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) April 22, 2025

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.

Rocco Baldelli has plenty of the position players already locked in to their positions. And, unless there is injury, the rotation is probably already set as well. With time in Fort Myers dwindling, playing time for regulars becomes more and more important.

Three players sent to minor league camp by Minnesota Twins.

Andrew Morris started today for the Minnesota Twins against the Toronto Blue Jays. He turned in three strong innings, and made another good impression as he attempts to make his big league debut this season. Morris can continue to stretch out so he starts strong in the St. Paul rotation.

Pitchers Ryan Jensen and Andrew Morris, who struck out three over three scoreless today, were re-assigned to #MNTwins minor-league camp. Catcher Diego Cartaya was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) March 11, 2025

Among the three players cut by the Twins today, Morris is the highest-level prospect. He’s among the group that includes David Festa, Zebby Matthews, and Cory Lewis when it comes to consideration for a major league promotion.

Related: Insider Calls Minnesota Twins Starter a Breakout Candidate

Over the offseason, Morris was an addition to the 40-man roster. He pitched in three games this spring, and has allowed just two hits across seven innings. He also struck out five and walked two while not allowing a run.

Veteran Ryan Jensen pitched 56 2/3 innings with St. Paul last season. The former first round pick owned a 4.76 ERA, and struck out 81. Unfortunately he also walked a whopping 50 batters, and control has remained a bugaboo for him. He will stay in St. Paul as Triple-A depth.

The final player sent packing was catcher Diego Cartaya. The former top Dodgers prospect was acquired this offseason and is on the 40-man roster. He remains depth for Minnesota behind Jair Camargo, and the pair should split time catching with the Saints.

Related: Minnesota Twins Make First Round of Spring Training Cuts

Cartaya has fallen apart in recent seasons. After an .892 OPS as a 20-year old in 2022, he posted a .656 OPS at Double-A in 2023. Last season he slashed .221/.323/.363 split between Double and Triple-A. He was just 1-for-7 this spring, but will continue to be developed as the minor league season opens.

The latest cutdown has the Twins sitting with 45 players in camp. They’ll need to make 19 more in the coming days.

Catching depth coming to Twins

The Minnesota Twins 40-man roster is light on catching options, and even moreso when considering that they are actively working to trade veteran Christian Vazquez. Ryan Jeffers and Jair Camargo are the only other options at the top of the system, but todays acquisition of Diego Cartaya helped to address that.

We have acquired C Diego Cartaya in the following trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers: pic.twitter.com/XmK04g68EK

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) January 9, 2025

Related: Minnesota Twins Reach Arbitration Deals with Multiple Young Contributors

Cartaya is a big name given his former prospect status. He played in the 2022 Futures Game and was a consensus top 20 prospect across baseball heading into 2023, but then he put together a pair of terrible seasons.

As a 19-year old, Cartaya owned a 1.023 OPS in 31 games at Single-A. He followed that up with a .254/.389/.503 slash line in 2022 at multiple levels of Single-A, and that’s where it went sideways.

With the Dodgers making the Hyeseong Kim signing official

Former Top Prospect Diego Cartaya was designated for assignment.

pic.twitter.com/JZqYI68ds1

— Dodgers Muse (@LADodgersMuse) January 3, 2025

The past two seasons, spent at Double and Triple-A, Cartaya has posted .656 and .686 OPS totals respectively. The power has remained (30 home runs in 188 games), but he owns a terrible 230/84 K/BB. He really struggled in his first taste of Triple-A, and is now 23 years old.

Related: Yankees Checking in on Multiple Former Minnesota Twins Infielders

Cartaya isn’t a great defender, as he will need to make strides as a receiver, but has held his own in the running game. He has hovered around a 20% caught stealing rate until getting to Triple-A last season. The Twins will look to make tweaks there that help him defensively.

Diego Cartaya put a HURTIN on that ball! pic.twitter.com/ipQwIYQzwU

— Oklahoma City Comets (@okc_baseball) August 17, 2024

Minnesota is definitely banking on the upside here, and there is reason to believe he could settle in for a new organization. Cartaya will start at Triple-A St. Paul, and depending on Rocco Baldelli’s catching situation, he could be the next man up.

What the Twins gave up

Jose Vasquez is a complete dart throw for Los Angeles, and it’s surprising they’d move Cartaya for that return. He is 20 years old and has yet to compete stateside.

In a pair of seasons spent in the Dominican Summer League, Vasquez owns an 8.05 ERA across 57 innings. He has 71 strikeouts, but as expected, the command is a problem and has translated to 47 walks.

If the Twins can get even a shred of the former prospect luster to polish out for Cartaya, this will be a massive come up. The more depth Minnesota adds behind the dish, the more likely it becomes they deal a veteran.

Related: Minnesota Twins Top Prospects to Keep an Eye on in 2025