The Twins are hiring Derek Shelton as their new supervisor, experiences Jon Heyman of The New York Publish. The workforce is not going to announce the rent tonight, as MLB discourages golf equipment from revealing personnel information on playoff sport days. Dan Hayes of The Athletic experiences that Shelton will likely be formally launched someday subsequent week.
Shelton returns to the Twin Cities, the place he beforehand spent two seasons as bench coach. He held that position between 2018-19, working one season apiece beneath Paul Molitor and Rocco Baldelli. His familiarity with the entrance workplace certainly gave him a lift within the managerial search. Shelton was a finalist through the 2018 hiring course of that led to Baldelli. Whereas he didn’t get the job at that time, he solely wanted to attend another 12 months earlier than he acquired a managerial alternative. Shelton landed the highest job with the Pirates going into 2020.
Pittsburgh was coming off a 69-93 season that had led possession to fireside supervisor Clint Hurdle and GM Neal Huntington. They introduced in Ben Cherington to run the entrance workplace and Shelton to supervise a rebuilding roster. Pittsburgh went 19-41 within the shortened season, then posted consecutive 100-loss data in 2021-22.
Issues seemed to be trending up by 2023. The Bucs improved to a 76-86 document. The following season, they hovered round .500 for some time and had been very smooth deadline consumers. Pittsburgh completed with a 21-33 efficiency within the remaining two months, leaving them 10 video games beneath .500 for the second straight 12 months.
The poor end carried into the ’25 season. The Bucs started the 12 months with a 12-26 document and had been kind of locks for one more final place displaying after they fired Shelton within the second week of Might. Pittsburgh performed .500 ball beneath Don Kelly the remainder of the way in which, in order that they’re sticking with a Cherington/Kelly tandem going into 2026.
General, Shelton holds a 306-440 profession document. That’s closely weighed down by the primary three seasons wherein no supervisor stood an opportunity of posting good outcomes with such a poor roster. The Bucs stalled earlier than they ever pulled out of the rebuild, nonetheless.
Pittsburgh particularly struggled to develop younger hitters. Extremely-touted skills like Ke’Bryan Hayes, Henry Davis, Endy Rodríguez, Nick Gonzales and to a lesser extent Oneil Cruz didn’t click on the way in which the group wanted. That’s not completely the fault of anyone coach or supervisor, after all, however Shelton got here up as a hitting coordinator in Cleveland and spent components of seven seasons as an MLB hitting coach with the Rays earlier than getting the bench coach place in Minnesota.
Shelton’s expertise working with a rebuilding roster ought to turn out to be useful with the Twins. They’re amidst no less than a retooling effort after buying and selling Carlos Correa and basically their total bullpen on the deadline. The Pohlad household possession group has pulled again spending because the Twins gained 87 video games and an AL Central title in 2023. They’re coming off a 70-92 displaying that had them above solely the White Sox within the American League. That resulted in them firing Baldelli after seven seasons. All or any of Joe Ryan, Pablo López and Ryan Jeffers may very well be traded this offseason.
The Twins landed a pair higher stage beginning pitchers (Taj Bradley and Mick Abel) on the deadline, they usually have some fascinating younger hitters to construct round Byron Buxton. Possibly there’s a path again to competitiveness by 2027, however that is prone to be one of many worst groups within the AL subsequent 12 months. They should overhaul the bullpen and have too many holes within the backside half of the lineup to repair in an offseason that’s prone to be extra about which gamers they commerce away than those they carry in.
Shelton was reportedly certainly one of 4 finalists for the Minnesota job. Yankees hitting coach James Rowson (one other former Twins staffer), Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, and Padres particular assistant Scott Servais had been the others. There are actually 4 groups nonetheless trying to find a brand new skipper: the Padres, Braves, Rockies and Nationals.
Flaherty and Servais have every been floated as potential candidates for the San Diego place, which is anticipated to be stuffed by the tip of the week. Rowson has solely publicly been linked to the Twins place. Atlanta and Washington have performed their searches near the vest. (Baldelli is reportedly of curiosity to the Nats.) Colorado has but to even get the method underway as they deal with hiring a brand new GM. It’s doable that any of the three different finalists will get a glance from a kind of groups.
Picture courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Pictures.
