Hall of Famer and Minnesota native Paul Molitor will be the first candidate to interview with the Twins to replace Ron Gardenhire as manager, Darren Wolfson of 1500-ESPN reports.
Lots of people in Minnesota have viewed Molitor as a sort of manager in waiting for a while now, although he’s never actually managed and his recent coaching experience is very limited as well. He joined Gardenhire’s staff this season in a role with a focus on baserunning, defensive positioning, and and infield instruction.
Gardenhire’s bench coach, Terry Steinbach, is also expected to interview for the manager job. General manager Terry Ryan has repeated insisted he will interview outside candidates as well, saying he plans to cast a wide net, but so far only in-house candidates are known.
Gardenhire was fired Monday after 13 seasons, the last four of which have seen the Twins lose 90 or more games.