Minnesota Twins: Bench Coach Options for 2018

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The Minnesota Twins had a full coaching staff ready for 2018 until Ron Gardenhire decided to bring Joe Vavra to Detroit. Who could be Vavra’s replacement?

Fans of the Minnesota Twins are excited for former Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire who was hired as the new manager of the Detroit Tigers recently. The assumption was that Gardenhire would likely look to his old staff of coaches to complete his new staff, and Gardy did just that when he called upon old friend and current Twins bench coach Joe Vavra to become his quality control coach.

Joe Vavra is joining the Tigers coaching staff as the quality control coach, I'm told. @LaVelleNeal was first to report Vavra's addition.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) October 31, 2017

Just as it seemed the Twins 2018 coaching staff was complete with the hire of Garvin Alston as pitching coach, the Twins front office now has another coaching search to to complete. Let’s take a look around the league and see who might be available to fill the Twins bench coach vacancy.

Internal Candidates

The Twins have communicated that they will be exploring both external and internal candidates. Who are some of those coaches in-house that may fit as the Twins next bench coach?

Jeff Pickler

Jeff Pickler was hired this past offseason out of the Los Angeles Dodgers system to a role that included outfield instruction as well as game preparation and strategy. LIkely the biggest influence Twins fans saw Pickler have on the 2017 Twins were the notecards that were found in the back pockets of the outfielders. That was a result of some the analytics that Pickler brought to the team’s game prep.

As an in-house candidate, Pickler may have a leg up since he is a true Falvey and Levine hire. At the same time that could mean nothing as they may have him in the exact role where they see him helping the Twins succeed most and will look elsewhere to fill the bench coach role.

Gene Glynn

Gene Glynn is a veteran of the game and as Minnesotan as Minnesotans get. The Waseca, MN native and first ever “Mr. Basketball” of the state of Minnesota has served as the Twins third base coach since the 2015 season. With 25 seasons as a professional coach and time on major league staffs under the likes of Don Baylor and Dusty Baker, he would have plenty of experience if he were to be hired as bench coach.

It seems that everyone who has had interaction with Glynn has nothing but good things to say about him as both a person and a coach. I have clearly never coached in the majors, but it would seem at this stage in Glynn’s career a move from third base to the bench might be a welcomed transition.

KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 8: Eddie Guardado /

Eddie Guardado, Torii Hunter

Guardado and Hunter find themselves on this list together because they feel like similar candidates. They both would be a fan-pleasing hire because of their past with the team as beloved players. Guardado may give a good argument for a promotion after leading an overachieving bullpen as the Twins bullpen coach in 2017.

Hunter was always considered a great clubhouse presence. Plenty of credit for the performance of the 2015 Twins was given to his immeasurable leadership in the clubhouse. Just maybe the Twins front office has fallen in love with his charisma and leadership enough to give him a shot as bench coach.

External Candidates

While Minnesota fans love to see one of “our own” succeed, the more exciting conversation is often what other big names could the Twins attract to fill their bench coach vacancy. Here are several coaches that fit that description.

Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Twins fans are plenty familiar with Sandy Alomar, Jr. from his time as a player with both the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. The Twins also know him well from as a coach as he has been a member of the Indians coaching staff since 2010. He has held several roles on the Indians staff, most recently as their first base coach, but he has also been bench coach and served as interim manager following Manny Acta‘s firing.

There is an obvious link between Alomar, Jr. and Derek Falvey as they spent time together with the Indians. That paired with the respect that Alomar, Jr. has earned around the league, which has resulted in his name being in consideration for several managerial openings over the past several years, makes Alomar, Jr. a solid hire for the Twins. As long as they can lure him away from the Indians.

HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 28: Joc Pederson /

Chris Woodward

Chris Woodward currently serves as the third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also has experience with the Seattle Mariners as their minor league infield coordinator and the major league infield coach. Woodward is a potential fit based on the Dodgers success this season, as well as Falvey and Levine’s clear fondness for plucking coaching and front office hires out of the Dodgers system.

As an up and coming coach in the majors, Woodward has also had managing experience as he lead the New Zealand national team during the World Baseball Classic. As someone who was still a player not too long ago, Woodward has matured quickly as a coach even if he doesn’t have the experience to go along with it. Based off of the reports in this article from Vice Sports, credit for that maturity can very well go to Woodward’s willingness to pull from the knowledge of those who have been in his shoes before him.

Brad Ausmus

Brad Ausmus joins Alomar, Jr. as former major league catchers to make this list. Most recently, Ausmus served as the Detroit Tigers manager before being let go at the close of this season. Ausmus would certainly be a known commodity if the Twins considered him for their opening. After just being let go from a manager position, Ausmus may potentially not be willing to entertain a lesser role like that of being a teams bench coach. We do know he did interview for the Boston Red Sox position before they hired Alex Cora which at least confirms a willingness to still be in baseball for the 2018 season.

In his time with the Tigers, Ausmus did win one AL Central title but spent most of his time dealing with an aging and underperforming roster. Ausmus was unable to produce the results the front office had hoped for with that aging roster and once Dave Dombrowski was out of the picture the writing may have been on the wall for Ausmus. His experience with the division may lead the credentials of what makes Ausmus an intriguing name for the Twins.

Mike Redmond

Our third former major league catcher to make this list is “old friend” Mike Redmond. Redmond has experience as a manager with the Miami Marlins and is currently with the Colorado Rockies as their bench coach. Twins fans will likely remember him best as a solid backup catcher to Joe Mauer as well as some stories of his interesting locker-room antics.

Redmond was reportedly in the mix for the Phillies and Tigers jobs. Redmond was at one time regarded as a fast-rising manager and someone to keep an eye on. As noted in this article about Redmond, Baseball Prospectus 2015 described him as a solid tactician and someone who was good with platoons. Both skills that would be valuable to any major league bench.

Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker just came off of what would be considered by many as a successful season and successful tenure before being dismissed by the Washington Nationals. The Nationals won 97 games in 2017 and went 192-132 during Bakers time at the helm, but the Nationals early exit in the playoffs was reason enough to dismiss Baker and his 1,863 career managerial wins from the team.

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In reality, to see Baker at the age of 68 accept any role in a clubhouse besides manager seems unlikely. He does make based on the facts that he is unemployed and does have a connection to Twins coach Gene Glynn as mentioned earlier. The reality is the veteran manager will likely stay home and retire from baseball or wait for the right managerial opening before stepping back into a clubhouse in a lesser role one might assume.

John Farrell

If the Twins wanted to make a splash, this would be the hire. The former manager of the Boston Red Sox, John Farrell, was also a splashy name some had mentioned should be a Twins target for the pitching coach position. With another Twins coaching position open, here is another opportunity for fans to dream big.

Much like Baker, Farrell had good success with the Red Sox winning 93 wins in each of the past two seasons. It was an earlier than desired exit from the playoffs that resulted in Farrell being shown the door in Boston. Farrell may choose to take the season off rather than jump right back into the grind of a major league baseball season.

Next: Twins 19th in Power Rankings

With all these options the Twins have plenty of great candidates to choose from for the next Twins bench coach. If Falvey and Levine’s short history in hirings says anything, it seems likely that the next bench coach isn’t on this list. In fact, many of us may not even recognize the name of the eventual hire for this position. Who would be the list of candidates you would want to interview for the next Twins bench coach?

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