minnesota twins hiring ex pittsburgh pirates Manager Derek Shelton will be the team’s new manager, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday.
Shelton, who was fired on May 8 as the Pirates slipped to last place in the National League Central, will replace Rocco Baldelli, who was fired by Minnesota on September 29.
Shelton, 55, was the bench coach for the Twins in 2018 and 2019 under two different managers, Paul Molitor and Baldelli.
New York Yankees Hitting coach James Rawson, who served in this role for the Twins under both Molitor and Baldelli before becoming bench coach. miami marlins Was one of the finalists in 2020 also. East seattle mariners Manager Scott Servais and current chicago cubs Bench coach Ryan Flaherty was also reportedly in the mix.
The Twins are one of nine MLB teams that have changed managers this year.
Shelton was named manager of the Pirates in November 2019 as part of a franchise-wide reset by owner Bob Nutting. This was his first major league management job after serving as a coach in various positions. Tampa Bay, toronto and Minnesota, and he went 306-440 in his five-plus seasons with Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh won less than 40% of its games in Shelton’s first three seasons, winning 76 games before taking a step forward in 2023. Paul Skenes‘ The arrival in 2024 dealt another blow to the franchise, and the Pirates were in playoff contention by August. In 2025, the Pirates’ offense under Shelton finished near the bottom of the NL.
The Twins, who were expected to contend for the AL Central title this season, faltered in June and became active at the trade deadline, sending away 10 players while cutting $26 million from the payroll. The team went 23–43 after the All-Star break and finished fourth in the division with a 70–92 mark.
This was the fourth-worst record in the major leagues and their worst performance since 2016.
Attendance at Target Field boomed this season, with the Twins selling a total of more than 1.7 million tickets with 81 home games, their lowest number in a non-pandemic season since 2000, when they played in the Metrodome and finished 69–93.
Fans have mostly expressed their disdain towards the ownership, with deep disappointment over the cost-cutting that came after Baldelli led a record 18-game postseason losing streak in 2023 and the club’s first playoff series win in 21 years.
Executive Chairman Joe Pohlad and his family members put the franchise up for sale in 2024, but in August decided to bring in two new investment groups to take control and inject cash to help pay off debt.
New York Post News of Shelton’s hiring was first reported by the Twins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
