Given his coaching and managerial experience, recently hired Twins manager Derek Shelton is qualified for his new job. However, it's hard to deny his hiring was anything other than underwhelming, considering he used to serve as Minnesota's bench coach under Rocco Baldelli, who was made the scapegoat of the Twins' disappointing 2025 season. Fans would have been more excited if the Twins had hired someone like Torii Hunter or Nick Punto, or even finalist Ryan Flaherty. Instead, someone who has already worked under the Twins' unpopular front office is returning as the club's new manager, rather than someone who could bring an outside perspective.
That said, why did Shelton take the Twins manager job? He already dealt with managing a team with owners who are fixated on saving money rather than winning, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates' clubhouse from 2020 until he was fired in mid-May of this year due to Pittsburgh's 12-26 start to the season. Like Baldelli, Shelton was made the scapegoat of his team's incompetence, even when it wasn't his fault.
Twins' Derek Shelton hire could signal unexpected 2026 plans
While it's fairly clear that Derek Falvey hired Shelton due to familiarity, the fact that Shelton agreed to the role suggests the Twins may actually be headed toward a return to the postseason. Shelton has likely made a good amount of money throughout his coaching career, and he is 55 years old, so he must be sold on the idea that Minnesota will soon be back in the good graces of fans. Someone like James Rowson or Flaherty accepting the Twins' job would make sense under any circumstance, as both have yet to be an MLB manager. Meanwhile, Shelton likely had to be persuaded a bit to accept his new role.
If that's the case, the new minority investors likely significantly improved the Pohlads' financial situation, meaning the Twins will have more money to spend this offseason than they have had in the past two years. If the Twins spend money to improve their offense and bullpen, hold onto Joe Ryan and Pablo López, and promote prospects Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez next season, Derek Shelton could easily find himself managing a postseason team in 2026.