Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is under contract through next season, but Minnesota still may move on from its long-tenured manager. Baldelli, who became the Twins' manager in the 2018-19 offseason, will merely be the scapegoat if he gets fired. However, the Twins will want to show their fans that change is on the horizon after two disappointing seasons, and managers typically bear the brunt of the blame for letdown seasons, even if it isn't their fault.
ESPN writer Buster Olney names 2 familiar faces as potential Rocco Baldelli replacements for the Twins
Olney named two former Twins coaches, Derek Shelton and James Rowson, as potential managerial candidates for the Twins if Baldelli gets fired.
Shelton served as the Twins' bench coach in 2018 and 2019 before being hired as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shelton remained the Pirates manager until he was fired after Pittsburgh started the 2025 campaign with a 12-26 win-loss record. Shelton had a record of 306-440 (.410) as the Pirates’ skipper.
Shelton has been coaching since he joined the Cleveland Indians as a minor league hitting coordinator in 2003. Shelton became the Indians' hitting coach in June 2005 and served in that role through 2009. Then, Shelton joined the Tampa Bay Rays as the hitting coach in 2010, staying with the organization until he got fired in 2016. The Blue Jays hired Shelton as a quality control coach in 2017 before he joined the Twins organization.
Rowson is currently the New York Yankees' hitting coach. He started his coaching career with the Los Angeles Angels as a minor league hitting coach (2002-05) before becoming the Yankees' minor league hitting coordinator from 2005-11. Then, Rowson became the Chicago Cubs' minor league hitting coordinator in 2012 and replaced Rudy Jaramillo as the hitting coach in June of that year, taking over the position through the 2013 season.
Rowson returned to the Yankees as a minor league hitting instructor in 2014. The Twins hired him as the hitting coach in 2017, and then he joined the Miami Marlins as a bench coach in 2020. He was then named as the Detroit Tigers' assistant hitting coach in 2023 before rejoining the Yankees as the hitting coach in 2024.