Twins set record straight reason about moving on from Thad Levine

It only took the Minnesota Twins a few days to start making sweeping changes after their season came crashing down. The collapse was sustained over the course of a month, but the result was Minnesota fumbling away what seemed to be an almost certain chance to make the playoffs.

That sort of thing typically leads to major change, which is what happened with the Twins. While Rocco Baldelli was retained as manager -- which was the right move -- the same can't be said for some of his staff.

Minnesota parted ways with three hitting coaches, including top guy David Popkins, as well as assistant bench coach Tony Diaz. The changes extended to the front office as well, with general manager Thad Levine announcing that he'd be moving on this offseason as well.

While all of those moves came in quick succession, they weren't vacancies created equally.

Derek Falvey sets the record straight about recent changes Twins made

News that Levine was parting ways with the Twins was certainly notable, if not terribly surprising. There were rumors he could leave as far back as last winter when he was named a finalist for the top job in the Boston Red Sox front office.

Levine ultimately stayed, but the interest in going to Boston was mutual and the first sign that he might soon cash out in Minnesota. Everyone is being judged for the poor job the Twins did this year, but it's easy to forget how much good Levine did. He brought in guys like Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Sonny Gray, and Pablo Lopez.

While his exit could be interpreted as being part of the moves Minnesota made in the clubhouse, Derek Falvey set the record straight to avoid any potential confusion.

"This has nothing to do with that. This has nothing to do with the specifics of the way the season went," Falvey said to the media.

Nothing about the way Levine's departure seemed to indicate that it was a firing, rather than a mutual parting of the ways. The Twins' statement hinted at Levine pursuing other jobs both inside and outside of the game, something that was backed up by MLB insiders who looked into the matter.

Falvey didn't have the same sentiment when talking about the coaching changes the Minnesota made.

"There were just things from a performance standpoint," Falvey said. "Admittedly over different stretches of time for us offensively this year we had some struggles in a way where it felt like we had a hard time getting out of."

The big question now is who the Twins will pursue to fill all of these open roles. Falvey hinted at Levine's replacement coming from within, citing how well the front office has been developed underneath the top two guys. Whether that's the case for Baldelli's staff is yet to be seen, as outside hires to try and spark something that's missing seems like a wise strategy.

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