The Minnesota Twins fired pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez, the team announced on Monday. Additionally, assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman won't return to the team next year. The Twins will begin their search to fill the positions immediately. All of the other members of the coaching staff will return next season.
Twins announce changes to coaching staff: pic.twitter.com/pEchtZ0JoC
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 28, 2026
The Twins hired Maki as their minor league pitching coordinator in 2017. He stayed in that role through the beginning of the 2020 season. He replaced Bob McClure as the pitching coach in June 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns for McClure, who officially retired after the season, allowing Maki to keep the role.
Maki kept his role as bullpen coach until late June 2022. Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson suddenly left the Twins to become the Louisiana State pitching coach. Minnesota promoted Maki to replace Johnson. Maki held the pitching coach role through the 2026 season.
Twins' pitching has struggled since Pete Maki became pitching coach
Since Maki took over as pitching coach, the Twins rank 21st in ERA. The pitching staff was great in 2023, the year Minnesota won its first playoff series in 21 years. However, it has been awful the last two seasons, ranking 25th in ERA this year and 24th last season.
The pitching staff's struggles haven't all been Maki's fault. Pablo López missed the entire 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Joe Ryan missed a large chunk of the season due to a glute strain. Mick Abel was supposed to play a big role in the Twins' rotation this year, but he missed the rest of the season after just four starts. Those injuries were obviously out of Maki's hands.
Additionally, the Twins nearly completely dismantled their bullpen last summer, trading away Jhoan Duran, Louis Varland, Griffin Jax, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. Then, the Twins failed to address their need for impact bullpen arms this past offseason.
While Maki faced plenty of adversity, it was probably time to let him go. The Twins' pitching struggles over the past few years weren't solely Maki's fault, but he certainly holds some of the blame. Sometimes a team needs to make a change, and the Twins clearly need several to get back into postseason contention. Now, manager Derek Shelton, whom the Twins hired last offseason, can decide who he wants as pitching coach. Shelton didn't hire Maki, as Maki took over as pitching coach when Rocco Baldelli was managing the team.
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