Paul

Molitor

Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported over the weekend that the Twins have trimmed their list of finalists down to 3-5 names. Derek Shelton, who was Paul Molitor’s bench coach this season, has been considered the favorite in recent days. However, there could still be some room for a surprise here. Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde and Twins hitting coach James Rowson are among the other candidates who have been under consideration.

They are finished with their first round of interviews and are calling in the surviving candidates for a second round of talks. Miller speculates that Derek Shelton, who served as the Twins’ bench coach this year, could be the favorite to land the job. Other known candidates are Twins’ hitting coach James Rowson, Cubs’ bench coach Brandon Hyde, Rocco Baldelli of the Rays, Giants’ bench coach Hensley Meulens and Astros’ bench coach Joe Espada. Jon Heyman of Fancred says Meulens and Espada are out of the running. LaVelle Neal of the StarTribune says former catcher David Ross is also in the mix. Miller made the interesting observation that none of the candidates have ever managed in the majors before and the last time the Twins hired a new manager with previous managing experience was in 1976 (Gene Mauch).

Add another team to the list. Hyde is a hot name at the moment, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that he has also interviewed for vacancies with the Rangers and Angels. Hyde has been on the Cubs’ staff for the past five seasons, including the last two as bench coach. He also previously served as bench coach with the Marlins.

The Twins have already spoken to Rocco Baldelli, Derek Shelton and James Rowson, and they plan to speak to Hensley Muelens and Joe Espada. Minnesota apparently will interview at least a few more candidates to replace Paul Molitor as well, who was fired after the disappointing 2018 season. It doesn’t sound like Minnesota is anywhere close to making a decision, despite some reports that Shelton was considered the favorite.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was first to report the possibility. The news could be made official at a press conference on Tuesday. Molitor received a three-year extension last year after leading the Twins to the AL Wild Card game and even won the AL Manager of the Year Award, but the club disappointed with a 78-84 record this season. Still, the decision is unexpected. Stay tuned.

This confirms reports from Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. While he doesn’t carry all of the blame, the Twins decided to make a change after the club failed to build off their impressive 2017 season. Molitor has been offered another position within the organization. He compiled a 305-343 (.471) record during his four seasons at the helm.

He’ll get right back to work Thursday in Arlington, Texas, where the Twins are opening a four-game series against the Rangers. Allen was suspended in late May after being arrested for DWI in Minneapolis. He has been open about having alcohol problems since his playing days.

Ryan has been with the Twins organization in some capacity since the 1980s. He served as the team’s GM from 1994 to 2007 and then again from 2011 until Monday. The Twins finished above .500 last year but have taken a major step back this year, prompting the front office to search for new leadership. “While disappointed we were unable to bring Minnesota a third World Championship, I leave the GM post with immense pride in being part of the Twins organization for the better part of three decades,” said Ryan in a statement Monday. “I wish everyone nothing but the best going forward.” Assistant GM Rob Antony will serve as the interim GM.

The Twins fired general manager Terry Ryan back in July, but instead of hiring a direct replacement, they are following the trend of a tiered approach to lead their baseball operations department. Anthopoulos served as senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager with the Blue Jays from 2010-2015. He stepped down because he didn’t feel comfortable working with team president and CEO Mark Shapiro after he was brought over from the Indians. Anthopoulos is currently part of a loaded Dodgers front office under the title of vice president of baseball operations.

The first big moves for the Twins under new front-office head honchos Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. “Bruno and Butch were great workers for the organization but as we worked through and thought about the criteria and characteristics we wanted from our staff, we felt we wanted to upgrade in those two spots,” Falvey said at the GM Meetings. “We talked with both of them. They were incredibly professional, as I would have expected. They are high-class individuals from everything I have learned.”