Down to Four Managerial Finalists; What Each Could Bring to the Twins

[sweetmusicviola16]

This is Falvey's hire and Falvey is in control. Doesn't matter who gets the job. Like Baldelli. love Baldelli, hate Baldelliu. He got to see who was in charge July 31. Wasn't him.

[John Stamos Have Mercy Guy]

Rowson has been my guy since the Bomba Squad season. Everywhere he went afterward - results followed. 

I could see him bringing in Nelson Cruz and or Torii Hunter to serve as hitting coach/special assistant, and bringing in one of his guys as pitching coach. 

I have never been more negative on this team, for obvious reasons, but hiring someone with Rowson's track record and potential managerial upside has me looking favorably on the future of this team for the first time in a while.

[DocBauer]

If this is indeed a final list it's an interesting group. But I'm a little surprised Vazquez didn't make it. I thought he was an interesting candidate.

Rowson hasn't been with the Twins for 5yrs. I wouldn't expect the actual manager to spend much time on hitting insteuction. He's got a lot to handle just being the manager. But I'd warrant he would have some quality candidates for the hitting coach and assistants. He's probably my choice, but I'd want a solid bench coach beside him to help with the details.

I find I like different aspects to each of the other possibilities. I like Flaherty to bring in energy and a more recent player profile. Shelton is a good baseball guy and shouldn't be penalized for his W-L numbers in Pittsburgh. Servais has "been there and done that" with some solid success in a similar market previously. 

Really no clue who is the best fit. I just lean toward Rowson with an experienced bench coach and a good pitching coach/staff in place...possibly Maki still...to bring in an outside voice as he isn't a lifting Twin and might help get the offense kicked in to a more sustainable level with the coaches he might bring in.

[JD-TWINS]

I like the Flaherty angle. Any extension of Craig Counsel makes sense to me. He’s a Pro’s pro after 8 years as a utility guy & similar length of time as coach. Seems like a guy others would want to coach for in a building situation. (None of us know who might be best!) Won’t matter w/o Wallner & Lewis playing much better, along with some FA help in infield and Pen.

Hiring the Yankees coach takes Team back into the middle of the ”Hit for Power” offensive strategy - that makes sense if coaching Soto - Stanton - Judge! Twins don’t have those guys,
 

Anyone that was bitching about hitting approach for Twins in ‘24 should volunteer to eat crow! Popkins took over a relatively ineffective group in Toronto and they are an offensive juggernaut!! 4 guys at or above .300 & 7 guys over .265. Strikeouts are down as well.

Twins, with existing group, need to promote contact and barrel contact without locking in on launch angle. Hit the ball & hit it hard whenever possible……..baseball 101. Blue Jay’s ‘2025 mantra at the plate!

[Schmoeman5]

I dont really have a problem with anyone. My only question is if Derek Shelton wasn't good enough to get hired when Baldelli was, how come he may be good enough now after Baldelli is fired? That would be admitting you may have made a mistake. No?

[Jacksson]

Most probably the consideration of Rowson was to glean whatever the Twins could from him on the players on the current roster and to feel him out as to his giving consideration to returning to the organization in the position of Hitting Coach.  The way to do that is to just have the opportunity to interview the guy and you don't get permission from his current employer to interview the guy unless you are offering a better position.  It isn't so much WHO the actual Hitting Coach is, rather the "material" and coachability of the players they have to work with.  Not much upside possible when almost 1/2 of the current 40 man roster could be cut loose without any negative effect on the team's upside.

[olerud]

They're all poo! Torii would've been the best! Apparently Punto didn't make the cut i think he'd be better than these chumps!!!!

[Greglw3]

9 hours ago, Otaknam said:

I agree with Mr. Sheehan post about the “Twins way.”

Swinging for the fences with 2 strikes..

No oppo field hitting..

Missing cutoffs..

Bringing the infield in when a double play gets out of an inning..

Different lineups everyday..

Pitchers who can't field...

Fielders who can't pitch.. Please!! Let's find a better "Way" than the current "Twins Way"

I would add a manager who :

Will utilize the speed they have, instead of doing an Earl Weaver and just waiting for three run homers that don’t come.

Who isn’t totally welded to analytics and making every decision based on a computer algorithm, especially with pitching.

Who will utilize his intuition periodically when making in game decisions, and is not afraid to communicate that to Falvey.

Show some trust in your starting pitchers to give you an extra inning or even two when they are doing well. What starter wants to be yanked after five innings when things are going well because the algorithm dictated it? I think that’s part of the reason Sonny Gray left. Also that helps to save the bullpen from overuse.
 

I agree very much with you in the points you made. The idea is to get as far away from this recent ill-conceived Twins way as possible. That’s why I think a proven winner in Scott Servais would be the best choice of this group.

[dxpavelka]

4 hours ago, jaimedude said:

Agreed I want Rowson as the next Twins manager. This and I think Rowson will put together a really good coaching staff. A lot of positives in hiring Rowson. 

Hitting coaches and pitching coaches tend to be good at one thing, coaching hitters and / or coaching pitchers.  I'll be fine if Rowson is the choice but he's not my first choice.

[Doctor Wu]

18 hours ago, Patzky said:

Is Washington even going to or be able to return to baseball in 2026? Hope he can just heal himself. 

I read that he feels healthy now and wants to either coach or manage again. Despite his age, he has such a good track record, and is so well respected, that I would think that some team will at least offer him a coaching job. 

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, jaimedude said:

Agreed I want Rowson as the next Twins manager. This and I think Rowson will put together a really good coaching staff. A lot of positives in hiring Rowson. 

Good hitting coaches make good hitting coaches.

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, jaimedude said:

Agreed I want Rowson as the next Twins manager. This and I think Rowson will put together a really good coaching staff. A lot of positives in hiring Rowson. 

Is there somebody out there who will go out of his way to NOT put together a really good coaching staff?

[LA Vikes Fan]

18 hours ago, Dave Borton said:

With his health scare last season, I think Wash's spikes are hung up.

I’ve read that Washington wants to manage again and expects to be available by Spring Training. 

[JD-TWINS]

44 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I’ve read that Washington wants to manage again and expects to be available by Spring Training. 

An awfully lot of volatility with Ron from a physical health perspective………and he’s 74. Nobody’s hiring him for the Top Spot anymore.

I think that Flaherty from Cubs with Twin’s organization mating him with Washington as bench coach would be a great mix, on paper anyway.

I wish Ron the best!

[JADBP]

I say Rowson, definitely!  Here is the key reason why:  he is coming from the NYY where coaches set very high expectations for the players, and give them the tools, training, and coaching they need to achieve these expectations and then hold them accountable.  I'd expect that bringing a little bit of that NYY approach to Minnesota would be a good thing!

[Schmoeman5]

8 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Is there somebody out there who will go out of his way to NOT put together a really good coaching staff?

That may be a great question. But Falvey might not let a manager pick his own staff. I dont believe Rocco had that luxury.

[jmlease1]

I'm finding the interest in Ron Washington in any capacity to be a bit baffling. The last 2 seasons for the Angels went poorly in every possible way and his managerial success was more than a decade ago in Texas. He may be well-liked and respected, but add in age and health and so forth he seems like a poor fit for any role that demands the daily grind and travel of a MLB coaching staff.

I'm a little leery of Shelton; while it's not entirely his fault for the Pirates for sure...where's the evidence he dragged anything additional out of anyone? 

But who knows. None of these guys looks like an eff no on the face of it.

Servais is the safest bet I suppose?

[Doctor Gast]

23 hours ago, olerud said:

They're all poo! Torii would've been the best! Apparently Punto didn't make the cut i think he'd be better than these chumps!!!!

IMO, Tori is the best choice too. Because the greatest Twins' need is restoring club & fan culture, plus he'd bring a lot of GOOD coaches with him to support him. Evidently, Tori is interested in the job but hasn't gotten an interview. IMO, Falvey doesn't care about getting the best manager; he's only concerned about yes men.

[purplesoldier4u]

On 10/26/2025 at 9:08 AM, TNtwins85 said:

I would love for Toby to be in the coaching staff! If he’s even anything like his dad he’s exactly the type of coach this team needs. 

What!?!?!?

[purplesoldier4u]

10 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Good hitting coaches make good hitting coaches.

He has a lot of experience in what not to do. I think Rowson did a great job of fixing what Brunansky helped to break. Would Morneau be interested in a coaching position?

[sweetmusicviola16]

42 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

IMO, Tori is the best choice too. Because the greatest Twins' need is restoring club & fan culture, plus he'd bring a lot of GOOD coaches with him to support him. Evidently, Tori is interested in the job but hasn't gotten an interview. IMO, Falvey doesn't care about getting the best manager; he's only concerned about yes men.

Falvey doesn't need to win. He doesn't need to have 30,000 fans in the seats at each game either.

[darin617]

I'm confused, it's supposed to be down to 4 people but Torii Hunter has not interviewed for it and would be interested in the job. Does that mean they don't want anything to do with him or just the way Pohlad's don't communicate properly.

[Hrbowski]

4 hours ago, darin617 said:

I'm confused, it's supposed to be down to 4 people but Torii Hunter has not interviewed for it and would be interested in the job. Does that mean they don't want anything to do with him or just the way Pohlad's don't communicate properly.

Hunter stated he wasn't interested.

[dxpavelka]

6 hours ago, purplesoldier4u said:

He has a lot of experience in what not to do. I think Rowson did a great job of fixing what Brunansky helped to break. Would Morneau be interested in a coaching position?

Great players tend to NOT be great coaches and / or managers.  They worked hard to be great but never really had to scrape for it.  Sure there are exceptions but not that many.  Wouldn't every team in baseball want Greg Maddux as their pitching coach?  Great pitcher.  His brother has been a pitching coach at various minor and major league stops for decades. But his brother had to be a scrapper to eek out a big league pitching career.

[TNtwins85]

18 hours ago, purplesoldier4u said:

What!?!?!?

What was Gardy known for? Continually getting the most out of some very dismal rosters that Terry Ryan gave him. Tell me I’m wrong. Hence, if Toby is anything like his dad it’s what the Twins need. “Baseball players”. The Twins don’t have very many “baseball players”. Guys that have all around talents and combine those talents to win games. In order to win you need to build a baseball team out of baseball players. Despite his playoff record every year he continually got the most out of what he was given. Something that got Baldelli and how many other coaches over the years fired. Now explain to me “What!?!?!?” Is wrong with what I said. 

[jmlease1]

On 10/27/2025 at 11:57 PM, dxpavelka said:

Great players tend to NOT be great coaches and / or managers.  They worked hard to be great but never really had to scrape for it.  Sure there are exceptions but not that many.  Wouldn't every team in baseball want Greg Maddux as their pitching coach?  Great pitcher.  His brother has been a pitching coach at various minor and major league stops for decades. But his brother had to be a scrapper to eek out a big league pitching career.

Or they simply can't communicate how they were able to do something to players with lesser talent. 

One of the biggest issues today is the stars have made so much money, they don't need the job or the income. Many of them already have other business interests that are more impactful on their lives. (Torii Hunter might make more off his BBQ empire than he would as a MLB manager) 

[TopGunn#22]

There is reason the Twins haven't considered Toby for the job.  What has he done at St. Paul that jumps out?  How many championships has he won?  As much time as Wallner, Larnach, Julien, and Miranda spent there, how has he unlocked their true potential?  How many "finished products" has he delivered to the big league ballclub?

Once you've answered that question, you should then consider why hasn't ownership or Falvey contemplated finding a NEW manager at St. Paul?  Gardenhire has been mediocre at best.  But if there's one thing the Twins do extremely well, it's striving for mediocrity.  Toby is PERFECT for the Twins in St. Paul. 

I read recently that the most likely candidate to eventually end up with the Twins managerial position is someone they are "familiar" with.  That would leave Rowson and Shelton.  I'm not enthused with either.  We don't need "familiarity," rather, we need a different approach, a different philosophy. 

Some people made a good point that Rowson, with Ron Washington could be a good outcome.  Yes, our hitting is a major disappointment.  But I want a manager who's a MANAGER, not a hitting coach who needs a security blanket with his bench coach. 

With the exception of 2019, the Twins can't be the powerhouse Yankees.  Power costs money in a normal baseball season and 2019 wasn't "normal."  We need to be more Brewers than Yankees.  I'd prefer a good manager and the hire of Nelson Cruz as hitting coach.  

Servais would be my 2nd choice.  He's experienced and solid.  I was also surprised that Vasquez didn't make their final 4.  He should have replaced Shelton.  My #1 choice would be Flaherty.  He checks most of the boxes that I'd be looking for.  But "Inside Sources"  are saying it will most likely be someone the Pohlad's and Falvey are "familiar" with.  That points to Rowson or Shelton and that knocks me over the head with pessimism.    

Once again, we all need to wonder what the expectations are of the mystery people who pumped about $400 million into this team.  I just can't imagine they would part with $400 just to sit at the table and say, "by all means, just go with who you are "familiar" with, we LOVE this stay the course mentality and approach."  

The Twins are not going to get where we all hope they can with a safe, comfortable,  "let's keep doing what we've been doing" strategy.  "Familiarity" is not going to break this cycle of under-achievement."  

[Patzky]

Reportedly, Shelton is the guy. 

[Danchat]

Nice, they went with the option that the comments section was least enthused about. Of course Falvey did...

[Vanimal46]

Wouldn’t surprise me if the contract is 2 years or less and him being the least expensive option.