Twins go for youth, name 37-year-old Rocco Baldelli manager

Rocco Baldelli was named manager of the Twins on Thursday, and the team announced an afternoon news conference to introduce him to Minnesota.

The 37-year-old was Tampa Bay Rays major league field coordinator. He’s the first managerial hire for the Twins from outside the organization since 1985.

Twins bench coach Derek Shelton, who coached with Baldelli in Tampa Bay, and Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde were the other finalists to replace the fired Paul Molitor.

Baldelli, the Tampa Bay Rays’ major league field coordinator, had his second interview with the Twins on Monday. Shelton, Hyde and Twins hitting coach James Rowson also interviewed for the position with Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine.

Ray Miller was hired as manager during the 1985 season, replacing Billy Gardner, and was the last man for whom the team reached outside the organization. Tom Kelly was a coach when named to the position during the 1986 season. Ron Gardenhire coached under Kelly until he took over in 2002. Molitor worked in the organization from 2005 until he replaced Gardenhire following the 2014 season.

Molitor got a three-year, $4 million contract after the 2017 season, when he was named the American League manager of the year. The highest paid managers in baseball last year Joe Maddon of the Cubs, the recently retired Mike Scioscia of the Angels and Bruce Bochy of the Giants; all made $6 million per season.

The Twins, coming off a 2017 wild card playoff berth, were 78-84 last season.

Baldelli was part of a surprise turnaround by Tampa Bay in 2018. After partly gutting their roster, the Rays went 90-72 under manager Kevin Cash.

His promising major league career included numerous stints on the disabled list because of complications from a muscular disorder. He also played briefly for the Red Sox, and retired after seven seasons at age 29 in 2010. He has worked for the Rays since, including four seasons as a first base coach.

Baldelli was a first round (sixth overall) pick of Tampa Bay in 2000 out of Bishop Hendricksen High School in Warwick, R.I., and signed for $2.25 million. An outfielder, he made his major league debut in 2003 and finished third in the American League rookie of the year voting. After a strong 2004 season, he sat out all of 2005 and never played in more than 100 games in a season again.

Shelton, 48, spent 2018 as Molitor’s bench coach and managed the team for two games when Molitor left the team to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for fellow St. Paul native Jack Morris. Shelton’s 14-year career as a major league coach included serving as Tampa Bay’s hitting coach for seven seasons.

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