Inside The Twins

Matt Wallner placed on paternity list, Twins recall Carson McCusker

Wallner has been one of the Twins' hottest hitters lately, but he'll be out of the lineup for 1-3 games.
Will Ragatz|
Jul 30, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Matt Wallner (38) runs the bases on his solo home run against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Target Field.
Jul 30, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Matt Wallner (38) runs the bases on his solo home run against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Target Field. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

The Twins have placed outfielder Matt Wallner on the paternity list and recalled Carson McCusker from Triple-A St. Paul, they announced on Saturday.

Wallner going on the paternity list means he'll be out of the lineup on Saturday and could miss up to three games while attending the birth of his child. Ryan Jeffers recently missed three games while on the paternity list.

The 27-year-old Wallner has been on fire lately. He homered in Friday night's win over the Royals, and over his past 11 games, Wallner has gone 11 for 36 (.306) with five homers, a triple, and a double. This season, he's hitting .218 with a career-high 16 homers and an .821 OPS. Both of those marks trail only Byron Buxton among Twins hitters (excluding Luke Keaschall, who has only played in 10 games, on the OPS leaderboard). 30 of Wallner's 51 hits have gone for extra bases.

This will be McCusker's second stint with the Twins this season. The 6'8", 250-pound outfielder went 1 for 6 with four strikeouts in his first stint back in May. With the Saints this year, McCusker has hit .245 with 19 homers and a .799 OPS. He got off to an incredible start to the season, but over the last two months or so, McCusker's OPS has fallen 250 points (it was at 1.049 on June 7). The hulking slugger has struck out in exactly one third of his plate appearances with St. Paul this year.

It's notable that McCusker, not Byron Buxton, is taking Wallner's roster spot. Buxton remains on the IL with left ribcage inflammation, but he's been ramping up his baseball activity lately and is believed to be nearing a return to action.

Currently, the Twins' outfield options are Trevor Larnach, Alan Roden, McCusker, and utility players Austin Martin and Kody Clemens.

The Twins and Royals will play the second game of their series at Target Field at 6:10 p.m. CT. With Kansas City starting lefty Noah Cameron, we could see McCusker make his third MLB start.

Update: McCusker is hitting sixth and DHing on Saturday.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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