LaTroy Hawkins Named Minnesota Twins Bullpen Coach

[Matthew Lenz]

Derek Shelton, hired earlier in the week, has made his first move as Minnesota Twins manager locking down the teams new bullpen coach.

Dan Hayes of The Athletic is reporting that the teams are naming LaTroy Hawkins for the role.

There may be no one more qualified for the role as Hawkins pitched across 21 major league seasons, accumulating 944 career relief appearances. Initially a starting pitcher with the Twins, he transitioned to the bullpen permanently in 2000. Hawkins recorded 127 career saves with 11 different teams in his career. Given his longevity, he filled many different bullpen roles in his career, most notably finding success in a setup role.

Since retiring following the 2015 season, Hawkins is stayed busy in professional baseball. He served as a special assistant in the Twins' front office in 2016 and had maintained that role through the 2025 season. He has taken on coaching roles with USA Baseball, including serving as the pitching coach for the 18U National Team in 2023. Additionally, he has been a part-time analyst for Twins television broadcasts since 2017.

What do you think of the hire? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

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[terrydactyls]

He will be a great example for the young starters coming up who the Twins want to move to the bullpen.  Hawkins did it and lasted 21 years in the major leagues.

[4twinsJA]

Hawkins is a good hire. I like Maki as well but maybe change is needed. Maki should not have any difficulty getting a job.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

We won’t know until he starts coaching, but I think Hawkins is potentially a terrific hire for the team.  He’s a regular guy who carved out a long career in the majors by adapting and adjusting.  The Twins need more of that all the way around.  

[Squirrel]

19 minutes ago, 4twinsJA said:

Hawkins is a good hire. I like Maki as well but maybe change is needed. Maki should not have any difficulty getting a job.

Hawkins is being hired as the bullpen coach, not the pitching coach. He is replacing Colby Suggs, not Maki.

[nicksaviking]

I like LaTroy and he always sounds like he’d be a great instructor. But getting into full time coaching a decade after he retired? Kind of weird.

Did he pursue this? Or did the Twins cut corners and basically just re-assign a current employee?

[The Great Hambino]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

He will be a great example for the young starters coming up who the Twins want to move to the bullpen.  Hawkins did it and lasted 21 years in the major leagues.

Agreed - a good trait for any bullpen coach to have, but especially with the amount of starters soon to be transitioning to relievers the Twins are likely to be working with in 2026

[Squirrel]

42 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I like LaTroy and he always sounds like he’d be a great instructor. But getting into full time coaching a decade after he retired? Kind of weird.

Did he pursue this? Or did the Twins cut corners and basically just re-assign a current employee?

He did some coaching during Covid, plus he’s been the coach on Team USA. I don’t know his entire resume. He’s also done some work with pitchers during ST.

[Greglw3]

Great hire!!! His knowledge and passion for the game come through on the telecasts, not to mention his love of helping young players. Well done, Derek Shelton! Welcome Latroy!

[Craig Arko]

Well worth a try.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

He did some coaching during Covid, plus he’s been the coach on Team USA. I don’t know his entire resume. He’s also done some work with pitchers during ST.

He’s a sharp guy, and I like the spring training instructor angle; you don’t do that unless you like working with young, undeveloped players. I have no problem with the hire. 
 

Just thought the timing is odd. Had he wanted a similar job previously, I’m sure he could have had one by now.
 

[DJL44]

Congrats to LaTroy.

Bullpen coach might have the least amount of in-game responsibility of any. Once the umpire says "Play Ball" the job is to pick up the telephone. He should have some value explaining to players how to prepare and adjust to life as a reliever.

[jmlease1]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I like LaTroy and he always sounds like he’d be a great instructor. But getting into full time coaching a decade after he retired? Kind of weird.

Did he pursue this? Or did the Twins cut corners and basically just re-assign a current employee?

He clearly pursued this. Plenty of quotes out there from him expressing his interest. He will have a different relationship with the players being their coach rather than a special assistant who shows up from time to time or a broadcaster who is expected to review their performance in public, and that might be important to him.

He has plenty of experience as a player and has done some coaching, so seems like a fine choice, especially working with other established coaches. Hope he does well and helps some guys who came up as starters successfully make the transition to the bullpen like he did.

[S Bart]

Good hire and a former Twin....Still...Sugggs was very good at his job....Latroy will be entering a MLB full time coaching position for the 1st time. .he will be in a learning mode on communicating with these young guys...regardless..🙂

[Blyleven2011]

What , no more hearing Hawkins in the booth on occasion  , say it ain't so ...

Back in baseball Latroy , the dream continues  , go get em ...

[Parfigliano]

7 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

What , no more hearing Hawkins in the booth on occasion  , say it ain't so ...

Back in baseball Latroy , the dream continues  , go get em ...

No LaTroy in the booth.  Hopefully more booth time for Plouffe.

[Jeff K]

This certainly seems like a good hire.  Glad for Latroy.

[shortround81]

This is probably a widely known fact, but LaTroy is Patrick Mahomes' godfather

[stringer bell]

I like LaTroy Hawkins and he has experienced a lot of baseball and baseball organizations in his time. I hope he has a lot of talent to work with. 

Another ex-Twin who I think would be a good fit for the coaching staff is Ehire Adrianza. He played for the Twins when Shelton was on the coaching staff. Ehire had a ten-year career without an excess of talent and he played for a couple of championship organizations before and after his tenure with the Twins. I know that he was hired by the Twins earlier this year.

[mickster]

On 11/7/2025 at 1:02 PM, DJL44 said:

Congrats to LaTroy.

Bullpen coach might have the least amount of in-game responsibility of any. Once the umpire says "Play Ball" the job is to pick up the telephone. He should have some value explaining to players how to prepare and adjust to life as a reliever.

his job is not during the game