The Twins have narrowed their managerial candidates to four, according to The Athletics' Dan Hayes. Those four candidates are Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, former Pirates manager Derek Shelton, former Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais and Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty. Hayes said Minnesota is "leaning toward hiring a candidate with whom they’re familiar," making Rowson and Shelton the presumed favorites for the job, as both have worked for the Twins in the past; Shelton used to be Rocco Baldelli's bench coach, while Rowson used to work under Baldelli as Minnesota's hitting coach.
Though it's still ongoing, the #MNTwins have narrowed their search down to four. If I was to handicap it, I'd have Derek Shelton and James Rowson leading the pack with Ryan Flaherty and Scott Servais in the mix. Story with @Britt_Ghiroli. https://t.co/3wddvzlAHC
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) October 25, 2025
Twins fans will be disappointed by Minnesota's 4 managerial candidates
Shelton, Rowson, Servais and Flaherty are all qualified candidates. However, Twins fans have dealt with a lot of disappointment over the past two seasons, and none of the four candidates are exciting enough to prove to fans that positive change is on the horizon. If the Twins hired a former fan favorite like Torii Hunter or Nick Punto, fans likely would be more inclined to watch the team in 2026. Instead, it appears fans will have to watch someone who has already coached under Derek Falvey manage the team next season, unless the team goes with Flaherty or Servais. And even though Flaherty and Servais are fresh faces, neither of them has a big enough name to bring more excitement to Twins Territory.
Here is the coaching background of Derek Shelton, James Rowson, Scott Servais, Ryan Flaherty
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.
During his tenure as the Mariners' manager, Servais led the Mariners to their best season since 2003, finishing the 2021 campaign with a 90-72 record despite a -51 run differential. The Mariners failed to make the playoffs that year, finishing two games back of the final American League Wild Card spot, but winning 90 games was still a step in the right direction for the Mariners.
Servais did eventually bring Seattle to the postseason, as the team defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the 2022 American League Wild Card Series, clinching their first postseason series victory in 21 years. The Mariners went on to lose in the Divisional Round against their division-rival Houston Astros, but the season was considered a success by many around the league, given Seattle's history.
As for Flaherty, the Cubs' bench coach was hired by Chicago in the 2023-24 offseason. Before that, Flaherty, 39, served as the bench coach for the San Diego Padres.