BREAKING: Twins to Hire Derek Shelton as Manager for 2026

[ashbury]

#fireshelton

 

[Irishman]

Oh crap!   I do not like Shelton at all.    Joe Pohlad is so cheap!   Shelton probably took pay cut to be a Minnesota Twins.

I am done with the Twins.  I will not renew the subscription of MLB tv next March.    I will not come to Target field.

Boycott Pohlad next season!

[Jacksson]

Why waste all the time and drum up the hopes of the dwindling fan base?

This hiring could have been made the day after Baldelli was fired.  We all knew it.

[adorduan]

a retread. 🥱🥱🥱

[HerbieFan]

I mean.....how many candidates do we really think wanted to come here?  The phrase "beggars can't be choosers" comes to mind.  Was hoping for Servais, but Falvey was never going to hire anyone who might question him, his analytics nerds or their computer printouts.  

[The Great Hambino]

What’s the book on Shelton’s managerial tendencies when he was with the Pirates?  I wonder how similar or different it was from his predecessor.

I’ll reserve judgment until the open letter to the fans comes out

[jaimedude]

Mediocre hire. The payroll resources are the same as  constrained as the rotten Pirates ownership, except they have much better pitching, so why would his record, Shelton,  be any different here in Minnesota as it was in Pittsburgh. I mean you picked Rocco Baldelli over Derek Shelton in 2018, Baldelli the manager you just fired. Make it make sense, you just hired the guy you passed over last go round. This is typical Twins ownership, Instead of rolling dice you pick a  guy as your next manager that you said no to, and failed miserably in Pittsburgh. . This is the easy  choice and a real thud.   Twins are a  slow, stale, boring and uninspired organization. Leave it to the Pohlads to go boring and cheap. I wanted to believe they would take a risk and give someone new a chance, instead they chose the stale loaf of bread. Twins do the same thing every draft to, take the easiest signability guy because it is simple to do. Say hello to dead last place record in American league baseball, it is already set in stone we will be worse than the White Sox. This team has 95 losses written all over it. Falvey is a lousy leader, you want people that are better than you and draw the best outcome from people, that is not Derek Falvey and Joe Pohlad.  

[Doctor Gast]

If I had to guess, I'd guess that Shelton was Falvey's pick from the beginning & he wanted us to think that he went through some vetting. Sheltie is desperate (so he'd agree to everything) & accustomed to losing; he's perfect.

IMO, the most important part of being a MN manager is healing the clubhouse & fan culture. I'm not sure if Sheltie would be the best choice but if he has a good staff behind him, he'd be OK. Since Falvey been in charge I'm getting used to being disappointed. Since he had Baldelli fall on the sword, he'd probably feel that he run it all back, pretty much.

[weitz41]

Congrats Dereck!! You poor bastard...

OK, enough of Stu's angle. I'm sure he'll cover that on Friday.

I believe the manager will have an effect the team's record to a certain point. +/- 5 wins? The players will determine that outcome. Ownership's direction and the FO's moves will determine it more than say Bobby Cox, Joe Torre or Derek Shelton can.

I'd also add the managing the Pirates is probably not a fair assessment. YET. Give it a few months then maybe it is. We truly don't know yet. 

Trying to be optimistic. It's a struggle... No tickets bought for next season yet...

[Irishman]

I predict it will be 90+ losses for Twins next season.

In Pohlad I don't trust!

[sweetmusicviola16]

7 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

What’s the book on Shelton’s managerial tendencies when he was with the Pirates?  I wonder how similar or different it was from his predecessor.

I’ll reserve judgment until the open letter to the fans comes out

Takes I've gotten from those who watched Pirates are, hustle by players was poor, losing was acceptable and fundamentals were poor on the team. He wasn't one for challenging Bob Nutting either. Falvey got the guy he wanted.

[The Great Hambino]

1 minute ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Takes I've gotten from those who watched Pirates are, hustle by players was poor, losing was acceptable and fundamentals were poor on the team. He wasn't one for challenging Bob Nutting either. Falvey got the guy he wanted.

Oh.  Neat.

[Sparky55]

Wow great move that should stir some get people excited to buy season tickets. This ownership and management has no idea how to market/manage a major league team. Good luck Derek I hope you prove me wrong 

[olerud]

Horrible choice,  but par for the course for this regime! Coulda had Torii NOPE we'd rather have a falvey lacky than a guy with some heart and soul with great leadership in Hunter! Just dumb, but not surprised at all

[jaimedude]

Stuck in the mud with the Pohlads as owners, Twins fans the dwindling one's of us that are left, will be even fewer. Prepare to have the absolute smallest home attendance in team history. You couldn't sell 3 dollar tickets to this already jilted fanbase. This 2026 season will be worse than studio baseball days. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Shelton is probably a good manager, but in an organization that badly needs to be shaken up, this is just about the least inspiring hire the front office could make.

[jaimedude]

Predictability, and boring, this team and organization needs fire and a kick in the pants. As much as I dislike LNP, even he would have been a better choice. This is epitome of the, dullness, and staleness of Twins organization. This Twins team is now worse in talent and effort then the White Sox. They have nothing to sell or market. The cupboard is bare. Watching the World Series makes you realize how very far the Twins MLB club has fallen. 

[Nshore]

Shelton is about to go through the baseball version of The Revenant.  I just hope the man survives.  He can always take shelter inside a dead horse.

[KnoblauchWasFramed]

This is the same BS that you've seen constantly in the NBA, NFL, and the NCAA.  The "Good 'Ol White Boy Network".  The constant and constant rehiring of mediocre white guys that only fail upwards. 

In case you haven't heard the phrase failing upwards before, it's the phenomenon that involves coaches receiving new or better job opportunities despite a track record of losing or underwhelming performances.  In a sport dominated for decades by black and Latino players, the Twins can't tell their fans with a straight face that there weren't literally dozens of better choices than this.  Torii Hunter was 100% not qualified to manage a team yet, but I would roll the dice on someone like him and see what you get before hiring someone like Shelton who we already know isn't a winner and likely never will be.  James Rowson would have been such a better fit for this team helping the young guys develop their hitting skills like he's been doing with the Yankees.  

I hate everything about this hiring, what it says about the future of this team, and what a middle finger it is to the fans.  And as a mediocre white man myself I know what I am talking about.

 

[jaimedude]

I purchased a 20 game package last season. With this hiring of Shelton, I will not be buying 1 ticket to a Twins game this 2026 season. Cancelling Twins TV too. I'm not the only fan that will quit the Twins. Thank you Derek Falvey, you got us to this point where there is zero optimism left and nothing but doom and gloom and you up and doubled down on it. 

[Fatbat]

1 hour ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Another Rocco. Oofda!

Rocco has a winning record tho so is it really another Rocco?

[jaimedude]

You guys know the clearance bin of misfit junk and damaged product at dollar stores. We already know Twins will be cutting payroll this Winter like that damaged goods bin. Worst part about it, is now the organization will get gutted. They will get fleeced in any trade they make because all the other GM's know the Twins Pohlads are looking to unload any and all larger contracts. The Twins will be like discontinued  junk rack at Cub foods. 

[Lasorda_This_Out]

Derek F****** Shelton?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

2 hours ago, Danchat said:

Not a fan of bringing in a former Falvine hire, and a guy who didn't do much in his first stint of coaching. Of course, that was because the Pirates stink and have little talent, but did he do anything to elevate the young talent they had coming up?

The only thing I can remember about him as a Twins bench coach is that he took over a game or two when Rocco missed time for some reason. I recall in a game thread on one of those days somebody complained that Rocco pulled the starting pitcher too early, but they realized Shelton was managing. Tiny sample size there, but I expect more of the same.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is a short-term deal with the lockout coming up, but I just don't see Shelton making it as our "manager of the future".

Also worth noting the Pirates' interim manager had a .476 record after Shelton was fired with the team starting with a .316 record, and they were at .410 over his five years there. Sheesh.

We’re seeing change right before our very eyes! Instead of Falvine, we now have “The Dereks”

[Chembry]

19 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Shelton is probably a good manager, but in an organization that badly needs to be shaken up, this is just about the least inspiring hire the front office could make.

Exactly.  I don’t think Shelton is a bad manager.  By all accounts he is well respected and a good baseball guy.  However, a different voice, not previously affiliated with the Twins would have been refreshing.  I was hoping for Servais, but who knows if he even interviewed for the position.  All that was reported was that the Twins were interested in him.

[thelanges5]

Big decision here, hopefully he can stabilize the clubhouse and get everybody moving in the same direction.

Even bigger decision upcoming, what will Shelton’s roster look like?

 

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Rocco didn’t have the coaching experience that Shelton does. Shelton has been a coach in some capacity, for a bunch of teams, for over 20 years. 
Not saying it’s a homerun hire, but their resumes before becoming head coach could not be more different 

I mean, wasn't Shelton literally the runner up to Rocco in 2018?  You can't get more "Rocco 2.0" than that.

[tony&rodney]

Never met Shelton, no reason to dislike him. Easy to understand the frustration of those who want someone from outside the organization. 

the Twins have Falvey handling all business and baseball actions. While I wasn't really enamored with his hire in 2016, it seemed reasonable to remain neutral because we don't know what goes on behind the curtain. The last 2 years the curtain was pulled back though. If Falvey doesn't figure out a couple of things this winter, he MUST go. However, there is no evidence that any Pohlad pays attention to baseball. I do think they look at the financial information but lacking business acumen the family seems lost owning a baseball team. They like Falvey and he is probably likable. Friends and family are not always good business partners.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Irishman said:

I predict it will be 90+ losses for Twins next season.

In Pohlad I don't trust!

Based on your other post, you won’t know nor care since you aren’t watching anymore!

[tony&rodney]

16 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Even bigger decision upcoming, what will Shelton’s roster look like?

 

This. The roster will be responsible for 98% of wins and losses.

I remain hopeful for positive changes to the roster.