Minneapolis – The Minnesota Twins have their next manager in place. Former Twins bench coach and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton will now be the 15th manager in team history since the franchise moved from Washington, D.C. to Minnesota.
Shelton, 55, managed the Pirates from 2020 until May 7 this year. Pittsburgh fired him after the team began the season with a 12-26 record. Shelton had a 306-440 record in his five-plus seasons with the Pirates. His best seasons were in 2023 and 2024, when the Pirates went 76-86 in back-to-back years.
In hiring Shelton, the Twins went with the candidate they knew best. Shelton served as Minnesota’s bench coach from 2018 to 2019, working under Paul Molitor and Rocco Baldelli.
The other names among the finalists for the job were James Rowson, Minnesota’s former hitting coach from 2017 to 2019, Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, and former Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais.
Before his time in Minnesota, Shelton was the quality control coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 and a coach in the Tampa Bay Rays system from 2010 to 2016.
Bringing Shelton back to manage the Twins likely won’t dramatically change the culture and managerial role. Shelton’s style isn’t too different from Rocco Baldelli’s, and all signs indicate things will remain the same with next year’s squad.
However, Byron Buxton is the only player left from Shelton’s time in Minnesota. Even if Shelton isn’t new to the organization, he will be a new voice for most players in the clubhouse.
Shelton’s return is not a guarantee that the coaching staff will remain the same either. Only Tommy Watkins (first base coach) and Nate Dammann (Twins staff assistant) were on the same coaching staff with Shelton in 2019. All other coaches have joined the organization since his departure.
The Pirates kept Shelton’s coaches on staff, with bench coach Don Kelly replacing him in the manager’s seat.
Former Twins reliever LaTroy Hawkins told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes he had interest in being a coach with the major-league staff earlier this week. Hawkins has worked in Minnesota’s front office as a special advisor since 2017 and is a possibility for a staff role next year.
Former Twins players who played under Shelton as the bench coach approved of the hire. Former Twins first-round pick Kohl Stewart took to social media to give a resounding endorsement of the hiring.
Some describe him as one of the best communicators in the game, which should bode well for the new relationships he has to establish within the clubhouse.
There are still many unknowns with what’s to come this offseason for the Twins, but Shelton will be their manager. Shelton will have a warm welcome in his return to Target Field. The upside is that he’ll have a chance to showcase his strengths as a manager with a stronger roster than he had in Pittsburgh in the last few years.
