In addition to adding Derek Falvey as Chief Baseball Officer, the Twins formalized on Thursday what was previously rumored to be happening — that former Texas Rangers executive Thad Levine would be taking over as Senior Vice President and General Manager.
Levine had spent 11 years with the Rangers as the assistant to GM Jon Daniels and was a key cog in the front office that took the team to the postseason five times in the last seven seasons, including twice to the World Series — losses in 2010 and 2011. Prior to that, Levine had worked for the Colorado Rockies from 1999-2005, first as Assistant Director of Baseball Administration, then as director of that department and finally the Senior Director of Baseball Operations. Levine also worked in business development with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a season prior to joining the Rockies.
Levine graduated from Haverford (Pa.) College and got his Master of Business Administration from UCLA before staying in the area to work for the Dodgers.
The Twins public relations department released this statement on behalf of Levine:
“As I embark on what I hope to be the most impactful phase of my career, I would like to thank the Pohlad family, Derek Falvey, Dave St. Peter and the Minnesota Twins fans for giving me the opportunity to join the Minnesota Twins family,” Levine said. “I am inspired to work for the Twins franchise, known as being one of the best organizations in all of professional sports due to the stalwart leadership of the Pohlad family, commitment of its loyal workforce, talent of its players and unflagging loyalty of its fans.”
Levine was instrumental in assisting Daniels in all areas of major league operations, including the acquisition of players, contract negotiations, statistical analysis as well as also overseeing the team’s international scouting department.
The Twins will hold a press conference on Monday, Nov. 7 at Target Field to introduce both Levine and Falvey.
Here’s a look at some great video that helps break down what Levine is all about, including in the first one, a tremendous quote (on minor-league salaries): “It’s absurd that guys who are working in the game are getting paid that little.”:
Levine’s name has popped up in terms of GM searches for quite some time. His name first popped up on Baseball Prospectus back in 2008 in an article entitled “The Next Ten” by Will Carroll. The list turned out some pretty good talent, as it also listed current Cubs GM Jed Hoyer, former Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, current Indians GM Mike Chernoff and of course, No. 9 on the list was Mr. Levine.
Here’s Carroll’s take on Levine from eight years ago:
“A former college teammate of Josh Byrnes, Levine has had an interesting path through baseball. He joined Byrnes in Colorado, replacing him when Byrnes went to Boston, then joined Jon Daniels in Texas as Assistant GM when Daniels got the job. That’s a pair of pretty good mentors, perhaps making the soft-spoken Levine one of the most complete candidates on the list. While not often thought of as a talent evaluator, Levine’s approach is to synthesize information, leading many to think that he’d be the perfect “middle road” GM. The downside is that the Rangers’ lack of on-field success might handicap his chances, and that soft-spoken nature might work against him outside of the small markets. He’s done very well with an oft-combative media in Texas, however. “I take Levine over a lot of these numbers guys,” says one old school exec, “because he’s been in a couple organizations with a couple types of guys over him.”
Levine also turned up two years ago when the Prospectus staff put together 10 names they were keeping a collective eye on as far as future executives on the move.
This time, here was the take on Levine:
“Doesn’t come from the scouting-heavy backgrounds of some of the other candidates on the list, but possesses high-end administrative and logistical talents that few of his contemporaries can match, wrapped up in a highly intelligent and affable package. It’s long been suggested that Levine will eventually take over the General Manager role with the Rangers, with Daniels already installed as the President of Baseball Operations. But until that time comes—assuming it does—Levine should be viewed as one of the more attractive candidates for any team in the market for a young, savvy baseball mind.”
