Manager Paul Molitor will return on a new contract with the Twins for at least the 2018 season, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. Nothing is official yet, but CBO Derek Falvey is expected to meet with the media on Friday.
Molitor, 61, completed his third season at the helm of the Twins. The club lost 103 games in 2016, but went 85-77 this past regular season (a 26-game improvement) and won the second slot in the American League Wild Card. They lost 8-4 to the Yankees on Tuesday.
The Twins were the first team to make the playoffs one season after losing 100 games, an achievement shared by Molitor with his talented players.
Molitor earned enshrinement in the Hall of Fame as a player, posting an .817 OPS with 3,319 hits across parts of 21 seasons, three of which were spent with the Twins at the end of his career.