Twins release Carson 'McCrusher' from 40-man, expected to play overseas

Carson McCusker launched homers for the Saints early last season, but he struggled in limited time with the Twins.

May 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Carson McCusker (60) reacts to his strikeout against the Kansas City Royals during the second inning at Target Field. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Twins have placed slugger Carson McCusker on unconditional release waivers, according to Twins beat reporters Dan Hayes and Bobby Nightengale Jr. on Wednesday. The 6'8", 250-pound outfielder known as "McCrusher" is expected to pursue an opportunity to play in Asia in 2026.

McCusker, 27, generated plenty of buzz early last season by launching titanic home runs for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, which eventually led to an opportunity to play in the big leagues. However, he struggled to make contact in his limited plate appearances with the Twins, and even his Triple-A production tailed off mightily over the second half of the year.

At the time of his MLB debut in mid-May, McCusker was hitting .350 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI, and a 1.061 OPS through 38 games with St. Paul. His remarkable exit velocities and home run distances created real excitement from diehard Twins fans who follow the minor leagues. It was also just a cool story: Here was a massive human being who went undrafted out of college and then spent three seasons playing independent ball before landing a minor-league deal with the Twins.

McCusker received just six plate appearances in his first stint with Minnesota, recording one bloop single and striking out four times. After going back down to Triple-A, his numbers with the Saints started to tail off. His power would still show up at times, but he hit just .176 in June, .179 in July, and .203 in August, with very high strikeout rates.

The Twins called up McCusker for one game in August, then brought him up for a third time when rosters expanded in September. He finished the MLB season with five singles, one walk, and 16 strikeouts in 30 plate appearances. That's a .372 OPS and -0.6 bWAR.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

McCusker hit 22 home runs and drove in 70 runs in 106 games for the Saints last season, but his season-long OPS wound up below .800 despite his red-hot start. He struck out on nearly 34 percent of his Triple-A plate appearances.

Now it sounds like he's going to play somewhere in Asia next season. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see McCusker have plenty of success as a slugger in the NPB (Japan) or KBO (South Korea). The latter is generally deemed as a slightly lower-tier league, which may be a better fit.

The Twins now have an open spot on their 40-man roster after McCusker's release. That could allow them to select a player in the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday afternoon.