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Questions surrounding the wobbly seat of Rocco Baldelli have been answered: The Twins have already exercised his option for 2026. As Dan Hayes reported in The Athletic, "Multiple sources confirmed the club picked up its team option for 2026 on Baldelli, who’s currently in his seventh season as manager."
It was not clear when the team made the call, but the report comes at an unfortunate time in the season. The Twins have gone 6-15 since June began, mostly thanks to their once-mighty starting rotation turning into the league's worst, with a collective 6.59 ERA. Hayes noted that Derek Falvey expressed his confidence in Baldelli on Monday and ruled out any mid-season manager switch. And with potential sale talks going cool again, any new management removing Baldelli feels equally distant.
Whether Baldelli is responsible for the collapse is less clear. The injuries to Pablo López or Zebby Matthews are entirely out of his control, and have had a staggering effect. But other managerial decisions have been questioned. Matthew Taylor rightly took him to task more recently for an odd Christian Vázquez play in extra innings. Cody Christie suggested that his choice to use openers has been somewhat strained. But one might easily praise his decision in Seattle for pulling Bailey Ober after four innings with bases loaded, turning to Danny Columbe to eliminate the threat (it ended up a loss, but not on Ober). And the Twins have continued to have one of the strongest bullpens in the league, which often makes up Baldelli's most critical decisions. As many will of course note, many of his decisions are really those of the front office.
And yet, the Phish-loving manager is now set to return, even at a time in which the future of the season—and the franchise—remains uncertain. One thing is for sure: fans will certainly have opinions.







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