The Minnesota Twins are on the search for a new leader to serve as manager after firing Paul Molitor and that search seems to be gaining clarity.
The Minnesota Twins front office made the move to fire manager Paul Molitor that was in all reality fairly expected. Even though it was expected as Molitor was a hire of former Twins General Manager Terry Ryan and the Twins just wrapped up a 78-84 season in what was supposed to be a playoff contending year. That doesn’t mean the firing doesn’t feel a little unorthodox after Molitor had been praised over the years for his willingness to use information gained from analytics and the reality that he is only a year removed from winning Manager of the Year honors in 2017.
With Molitor officially out as manager, we officially can begin with the fun of speculating who could be the Twins next manager. In the press conference in which Molitor’s firing was announced the front office mentioned that they were not concerned with the next manager having previous managing experience. There is a desire for them to value and use analytics and the point was raised that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are yet to hire from either of their previous two stops.
While we haven’t seen Falvey and Levine make a search of this sort we have seen them hire several of the guys on Molitor’s staff. Each time it seemed they hired a name that was on no one’s radar but was still a well-respected coach with their stock climbing in the right direction. And yes, they did not hire any of those guys from the Texas Rangers or Cleveland Indians.
With the short-lived Joe Madden dream fans had before the Chicago Cubs announced he would be returning to the North side now faded. According to an article from Dan Hayes at The Athletic the Twins have narrowed their search down from 20-30 candidates to a solid 6-10 candidates. Among that narrowing down several interviews have already taken place or are believed to be taking place soon.
As the day draws nearer and nearer that the Twins will hire their new manager, here is a look at some of the men who have reportedly risen to the top of that battle to have the title of next Twins skipper.