Fired Twins manager Rocco Baldelli reportedly interested in managing again
Fired Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told The Athletic's Dan Hayes that up to ten teams have expressed interest in hiring him since he was let go by Minnesota. He didn't specify what roles the teams have expressed interest in him filling, and also said he'd be open to manage again.
"If [the situation] matches, I'll [manage] again someday," Baldelli said. "I'd love to it again. But I owe my family a little time."
The Twins let Baldelli go after Minnesota ended the 2025 season with the second-worst record (70-92) in the American League and failed to make the playoffs the season prior despite projections having the team at an over 90% chance to make the postseason in August. It's a sour end to an overall impressive tenure for Baldelli as the Twins' manager, as he had a 527-505 record while leading Minnesota.
Baldelli took over the Twins' manager job in 2019 after the team fired Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor. In his first season as Minnesota's skipper, Baldelli led the club to a 101-61 record while setting the record for most homers in a season with 307, which the Atlanta Braves went on to tie in 2023. Baldelli also led the Twins to the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and led the club to its first postseason game win in 19 seasons and first postseason series win in 21 seasons in 2023.
While it made sense for the Twins to fire Baldelli given the need to show fans change is on the horizon, Minnesota's poor 2024 and 2025 seasons weren't necessarily Baldelli's fault. Even though the Twins won their first playoff series in 21 seasons two years ago, the Pohlads decided to slash payroll by over $30 million heading into the 2024 season, and spent just $10.25 million on major league free agents (Harrison Bader, Ty France and Danny Coulombe) last offseason.
Since Baldelli is receiving plenty of interest from other teams, it points toward the poor public perception of the Twins' owners and front office, considering they fired Baldelli rather than having him continue the success of the 2023 season with the help of more established major leaguers. Baldelli is popular among Major League Baseball, and he deserves an opportunity to coach, or even manage, elsewhere.