Report: Rocco Baldelli Will Return for 2026, as Twins Exercise Contract Option

[Doctor Gast]

2 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

The only reason that comes to mind is that maybe this is some inane strategy, like in Major League, to lose so badly that the owners make their best return by moving the team to Nashville. Ricky Vaughn, straight out of the California Penal League, here we come!

Please note the italics as a substitute for sarcasm font.

In all seriousness, I switched my MLB Network TV preference to the Brewers - way more fun to watch - and reducing my commitment to being a casual MLB watcher as opposed to an every dayer.  Please don’t think of me as a traitor - I’ve watched over 140 Twins games every year for the past decade.  I’ll come back when there is regime change. In the meantime. I’ll find other more rewarding things to keep me occupied until football preseason begins - I hear knitting and basket weaving are fun hobbies. Or maybe I’ll just watch paint dry - even that is better than watching this futile team and franchise led by the Pohlads, Falvey and Rocco. Just need something more positive now that the only true reason for hope - Rocco, bless his little heart, being fired - is gone.  Watching that ineptitude and then coming to the TD for all the carping (albeit well deserved) just isn’t a good use of always and increasingly valuable time.

Best to all of you TDers - it’s been real! 

I'm sorry you're leaving, Nashville. I understand where you're coming from & I don't blame you. There is only so much a fan can take. I have considered the same thing many times. We must be delusional to think that Pohlads will become smart enough to fire Falvey & Co. I might be right behind you. Twins will lose a lot fans & lose a lot of money. Pohlads are crying that they are losing too much money the way it is. It's because they have no idea how to run a baseball team! The team should have been sold already. But they are holding out for more money! They'll only lose more money the longer they hold onto their incompetence. Pohlads, be happy with your $billion plus & step aside so someone else who knows what they're doing can take over. Because you have proven that you don't have a clue.

Nashville, I hope very soon that we can come together & celebrate the Twins success after the Pohlads are gone.

[Patzky]

56 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm afraid you're maybe right. Falvey is running out of excuses. 1st it's injuries, it's always the hitting coaches, then the trainer, the weather, the cheap Pohlads (every team has these problems, it's how you deal with them that makes you a good FO); it can't be how he's running the team, so the next thing is to blame the players. Get rid of all of them & start all over. The Pohlads are buying everything Falvey is shoveling. I hope the fans aren't.

I'm glad you got the gist. After I wrote it I thought it could have been construed as, the players will demand trades, throw games, quit. Which as horrible as it is I see more frustration and resignation on the field. Whether it's the lack of support from the front office or loss of trust in the coaching staff or each other.. there is caring. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

8 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

That is so funny.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning. 

[Doctor Wu]

9 hours ago, T.O. said:

I'm naive enough to be surprised. Shocked actually.

I don't think I can watch another season of Rocco ball.

 

If anything, the timing is the big surprise. Why announce an extension now? And why do it the midst of yet another depressing losing streak? I don't get it. 

[TwinsDr2021]

Is it bad to cheer against your favorite team just so changes get made? I am getting close. 

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, Fezig said:

Falvey got rid of Molitor for much less.

No. It's pretty clear that Molitor was let go because he wasn't on the same page with the front office. Information that they wanted passed on to players was stopping at the coaching staff, strategic input was being ignored, etc. You want to tell your boss to @*%#$  off, you better win a LOT, and Molly didn't. 

I wouldn't have extended Rocco, regardless of when the option was picked up. Last season ended poorly and the team is up for sale. Why add the obligation on the books now? If he pulls things together, maybe he gets a nice extension from the new ownership, but are we really all that concerned about Rocco being a free agent and getting poached by another team?

I'm not one of these people who blindly hates the manager, but he's one of those guys who looks good when his players are healthy and playing well, and bad when they're not. That's 60-70% of the league. He's hardly elite tactically, but also not the embarrassment some people prefer to frame him up as. He seems to do a good job of running his clubhouse, managing personalities, etc. But hasn't done enough recently to show that he deserves an extension, really, and I don't buy the theory (which has been pushed into the media by coaches, who have a vested interest in people believing it) that a manager can't be effective in their walk year.

[hitterscount]

This is the nail in the coffin for me. Extending, quite possibly, the worst manager in the MLB just shows how checked out this ownership is. They don’t give a sh** about the product on the field. After the Correa signing everything they have done has gone against putting a quality product on the field, including keeping the clueless manager around. MLB TV cancelled at the end of the month. Living in Wisconsin I will join my wife and tuning in to the Brewers. Is it that much to ask for good clean fundamental baseball…. with Rocco that has never happened and he is rewarded with an extension.. No more for me. This style of baseball is a joke, beyond frustrating…. I’m out until some sign of accountability is made, and it should have started with the release of Rocco at the end of last season, but this front office seems to think this type of sloppy uninspired play is what we want to see every night…. Tone deaf and arrogant.

[Peter]

Twins aren’t getting sold-Rocco/falvey are package deal! One goes so will the other. Just got to ride out storm-only 2 back of wild card. Wins will come!!!

[notoriousgod71]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

If anything, the timing is the big surprise. Why announce an extension now? And why do it the midst of yet another depressing losing streak? I don't get it. 

It's really a giant slap in the face for those remaining fans.

[Woof Bronzer]

Unless the option expired at 8 pm on June 23, 2025 and the contract required immediately announcing it I continued to be awestruck by this organization's almost unbelievably poor PR operations.  Who in the world would think that the timing of this announcement - coming amidst a 1-10 stretch including 4 straight blowouts at home where they gave up an average of 11.5 runs/game - is a good idea?  

Everybody on this site would have known better to do something like this now.  The PR mavens employed by the Twins, at a healthy salary I'm sure, are either some of the most incompetent people on the planet - worse than picking a random fan off the street - or the Twins are intentionally trying to alienate their fanbase even further.  Which, uh, ok.  

Further reminder that being rich doesn't make you smart or competent or savvy.  These Pohlads are such astoundingly terrible businesspeople in that they have mismanaged the Twins so poorly, by using it as a debt shelter for their other failing businesses, that they'll be unable to sell it without a huge loss.  Imagine running an American sports franchise so badly you lose money selling it.  Has this literally ever happened?  Simply astounding.  

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

If anything, the timing is the big surprise. Why announce an extension now? And why do it the midst of yet another depressing losing streak? I don't get it. 

The only logical explanation is that they WANTED to upset fans.  The Pohlads are probably pissy that nobody is just handing them the $1.7b they are demanding, and like all insanely rich babies who don't get their way, they are punching down and punishing whoever they can, in this case fans.  It's like Carl throwing a hissy fit when the state wouldn't hand him a half-billion dollars for a stadium and then conspiring to move and then contract the team.  If the Pohlads don't get their way, their instinct is to simply destroy the asset in question, punish whoever they can, and move on.  

"Nobody's paying our ransom?  Fine.  You get Baldelli for another couple years.  Hope you're happy!  All this will stop once someone gives us the billions we are owed."

[Ricky Vaughn]

I'm going to put a positive spin on this. Just maybe a sale is close to happening and Falvey is making sure his little buddy gets a check for next year.

[Sparky55]

They talk about generating runs by moving the runner over, bunting more, taking the extra base but it never happens. Who’s fault is that?

[DJL44]

The most disappointing part of this announcement is the statement it makes that they don't want to do better than the team they have on the field right now.

[LeatherAntenna]

Twins have given up 99 runs over the last twelve games, a bit over 8 runs per game if my California math is accurate.   This is a good time to lock Baldelli down for another year.

[The Great Hambino]

The way I see it, there are two possibilities for what is driving this double-down on the manager

1. The extension came from ownership, regardless of Falvey's feelings on the matter.  They want costs controlled as the sales process drags on, and they don't see a path to a meaningful increase to short-term revenues with a manager change.  Falvey is now tasked with putting verbal lipstick on this pig, which may have become his primary job if the cost-control mandate has extended to player acquisition.  So why doesn't he quit?  These primary decision maker positions are hard to come by, and there's no guarantee he'd find another one.  It would be like a player opting out of a contract after the worst season of their career.  It just doesn't happen

2. Falvey initiated the extension himself.  Ownership didn't demand it, but they're not demanding change either.  Falvey knows that one of the most effective ways to buy some job security in pro sports (other than winning, but who has time for that?) is to offer up the person beneath you as the sacrificial lamb/scapegoat/actual-root-of-the-problem (whichever you prefer).  While there's no pressure now, there may be in the future.  By keeping Baldelli around, Falvey keeps a card in his back pocket to play if/when ownership attitude (or ownership itself) changes.  And since no one wants a lame duck manager, here comes the extension.  Is it cynical?   Yes.  Does it boost Falvey's job security from his point of view?  Also yes.

In either scenario, Falvey is acting in self-interest according to ownership wishes.  I find it very hard to believe that the Pohlads want Baldelli gone but Falvey is putting his career on the line for him by pushing back against them.  In conclusion, this is ultimately an ownership directive, and this won't change until they do. 

As for why this got announced now?  I don't know.  I guess it fits this organization's MO of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time all the time

Edited June 24, 2025 by The Great Hambino
clarity

[LeatherAntenna]

Not sure my California math is correct, double checking. It’s kinda hard to add up all these runs against, but I think it’s also 135 runs over 16 games.

[DJL44]

30 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

2. Falvey initiated the extension himself.  Ownership didn't demand it, but they're not demanding change either.  Falvey knows that one of the most effective ways to buy some job security in pro sports (other than winning, but who has time for that?) is to offer up the person beneath you as the sacrificial lamb/scapegoat/actual-root-of-the-problem (whichever you prefer).  While there's no pressure now, there may be in the future.  By keeping Baldelli around, Falvey keeps a card in his back pocket to play if/when ownership attitude (or ownership itself) changes.  And since no one wants a lame duck manager, here comes the extension.  Is it cynical?   Yes.  Does it boost Falvey's job security from his point of view?  Also yes.

I guess, if he wants this to be his last job in baseball. 42 seems to be a bit young for that.

[jorgenswest]

It doesn’t make sense to me. I would have moved on after the season or in season if I was convinced the best manager is available now. Oh well. Baseball this evening. I will be listening/watching. Go Twins.

[Doctor Gast]

4 hours ago, Fezig said:

Falvey got rid of Molitor for much less.

Falvey gets rid of coaches who don't agree with his stupid ideas & let great coaches walk, while promoting incompetent coaches that should be fired only because they don't question him. 

I like Baldelli & think he could become a pretty good manager if mentored by a good manager. He was hired because of his inexperience (or should I say lack of ability to stand up against Falvey) & ability to enforce his weird analytics.

What do they say about keeping doing the same thing & expecting a different result? That's Falvey.

[jmlease1]

7 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I guess, if he wants this to be his last job in baseball. 42 seems to be a bit young for that.

LOL, this is where fanbase irrationality comes into play. Falvey is well-respected across the league. While he might not immediately get a new job as a GM (there simply aren't that many of them), he will be in demand from other parts of the league. The same applies to Rocco, who is not viewed by people outside this market as being the worst manager in the league. Remember, the rest of baseball sees us as being a poor market, more akin to Tampa Bay than say St. Louis.

But the team stinks right now, so expecting rationality out of the fanbase is almost certainly a bridge too far.

Also, if anyone thinks they're sending the franchise a message by quitting the team, forget it. The team is for sale, and ownership doesn't care about you. Hells bells, it's the Pohlads: they've never cared about you as a baseball fan. They don't care about the baseball (well, except for someone like Joe...who doesn't appear to actually be good at the business or PR sides of it and likely has little to no say in the baseball aspects either), they care about the asset, and they just want to claw as much money as possible out of it.

I'm guessing Falvey did it thinking the team is being sold and wanting to protect his manager a little from the inevitable "new owner change" (which while we all crave, but can create new problems; as much as we were interested in Justin Ishbia, his brother Mat's Phoenix Suns are in deep trouble from a basketball standpoint). I respect the loyalty, but it's a bad look and not helpful to the team.

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Is it bad to cheer against your favorite team just so changes get made? I am getting close. 

I've essentially been there since July 31st, 2024. 

[USAFChief]

20 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

LOL, this is where fanbase irrationality comes into play. Falvey is well-respected across the league. While he might not immediately get a new job as a GM (there simply aren't that many of them), he will be in demand from other parts of the league. The same applies to Rocco, who is not viewed by people outside this market as being the worst manager in the league. Remember, the rest of baseball sees us as being a poor market, more akin to Tampa Bay than say St. Louis.

But the team stinks right now, so expecting rationality out of the fanbase is almost certainly a bridge too far.

Also, if anyone thinks they're sending the franchise a message by quitting the team, forget it. The team is for sale, and ownership doesn't care about you. Hells bells, it's the Pohlads: they've never cared about you as a baseball fan. They don't care about the baseball (well, except for someone like Joe...who doesn't appear to actually be good at the business or PR sides of it and likely has little to no say in the baseball aspects either), they care about the asset, and they just want to claw as much money as possible out of it.

I'm guessing Falvey did it thinking the team is being sold and wanting to protect his manager a little from the inevitable "new owner change" (which while we all crave, but can create new problems; as much as we were interested in Justin Ishbia, his brother Mat's Phoenix Suns are in deep trouble from a basketball standpoint). I respect the loyalty, but it's a bad look and not helpful to the team.

"Fanbase irrationality?"

Look in the mirror.

[nicksaviking]

3 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

If anything, the timing is the big surprise. Why announce an extension now? And why do it the midst of yet another depressing losing streak? I don't get it. 

I don't think it was an announcement so much as a leak.

Which probably means there's at least SOMEBODY in the organization that isn't happy about it and wanted to burn everyone by slipping this to Dan Hayes.

[Twodogs]

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Managers, don't make decisions anymore.  Rocco is nothing more than a prop set up for a play.  The only reason they'd fire Rocco is if he bucked management and did some things they didn't agree with.  If they were to fire him they would just put another prop in there that will do the exact same thing Rocco is already doing.  

[nicksaviking]

Also, I know it's not a popular move, but this is probably a good sign that the Pohlad's are still looking to sell. Yeah, Baldelli deserves to be shown the door, but exercising his option implies it's a one year deal. Hiring a new manager will require more than a one year deal. New ownership and new regime are going to want a clean slate.

[tony&rodney]

10 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

No. It's pretty clear that Molitor was let go because he wasn't on the same page with the front office. Information that they wanted passed on to players was stopping at the coaching staff, strategic input was being ignored, etc. You want to tell your boss to @*%#$  off, you better win a LOT, and Molly didn't. 

 

 

[DJL44]

34 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

LOL, this is where fanbase irrationality comes into play. Falvey is well-respected across the league. While he might not immediately get a new job as a GM (there simply aren't that many of them), he will be in demand from other parts of the league.

Other owners want to hire a POBO who picks his manager solely based on having a fall guy for his mistakes? I guess if Falvey can get a job elsewhere, then Rocco will get another job again, because he'll be working for Falvey.

[AKTwinsFan]

Well that ruined my day reading this.