Thursday, November 06

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- On Tuesday, five days after announcing Derek Shelton as their new manager, the Twins will hold his formal introduction at Target Field. It will be a chance for the skipper to speak directly to those of us who cover the team and, by extension, you the fans.

It also will be our first chance to ask him questions, and our first public availability with the team’s front office since Rocco Baldelli was dismissed at the end of September. There’s a lot to ask and a lot to discuss.

Here are three questions for the new manager.

Who will Shelton choose for his coaching staff? And how many, if any, members of the 2025 staff will be retained?

Of course, Shelton won’t reveal his entire coaching staff on Tuesday. He probably won’t reveal any of it. He’s only had the job for a few days, and the staff almost certainly is not set yet, though you can be sure it was a topic of conversation during his interviews.

Shelton maintained three coaches on all six of his staffs with the Pirates. One of them was bench coach Don Kelly, who obviously will not be coming to Minnesota after he was named full-time manager of the Pirates. The others were first-base coach Tarrik Brock and pitching coach Oscar Marin. It will not be a shock if either man is on Shelton’s staff with the Twins as well. That doesn’t necessarily mean they would reprise those exact roles, but it’s reasonable to think that they could play a part.

As far as the Twins’ 2025 staff, nothing has been ruled out by the front office, so it’s at least possible that some coaches will return. Among those who might be more likely to be retained are third-base coach Tommy Watkins and assistant bench coach Hank Conger, but it’s all to be determined. Pitching coach Pete Maki has been with the Twins’ organization since before former manager Rocco Baldelli was hired in October 2018, and it also would not be a shock if he stayed with the club in some capacity.

On the other side, it seems quite likely that bench coach Jayce Tingler will not return. And Shelton’s background is as a hitting coach, so it will not be surprising if he wants to choose his own hitting coach to replace Matt Borgschulte.

Will Shelton maintain the frenetic pace of the post-Deadline Twins?

After the Trade Deadline sell-off, the Twins didn’t just field a different lineup, they took a different approach on the field. Baldelli pushed his team to be more aggressive on the bases, and it took. Minnesota stole bases and took extra bases at a clip not seen in this organization in years.

One of the biggest questions facing the 2026 Twins is whether they will maintain that approach. That’s because not only does the answer affect in-game decision-making, it could impact roster construction as well.

Players like Austin Martin, Alan Roden and perhaps James Outman have greater value to a team emphasizing speed and defense, whereas someone like Trevor Larnach or even Matt Wallner might become less of a priority. An answer to the question of how important athleticism will be could also provide a clue as to how the Twins will build their roster over the coming months.

What did Shelton learn from his time in Pittsburgh?

When the Pirates hired Shelton away from the Twins -- for whom he had been serving as bench coach -- prior to the 2020 season, he was a sought-after managerial candidate with experience as both a hitting coach and a bench coach.

Shelton didn’t get off to a great start, with Pittsburgh posting MLB’s worst record in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and losing 100 games in both 2021 and ‘22. But the ’23 and ’24 Pirates showed improvement, winning 76 games both times -- a number Pittsburgh has only topped six times since 2000. But the Bucs got off to a brutal start in ’25, and Shelton was removed on May 8.

So the overall record doesn’t look great. But there’s a long list of managers who had a great deal more success after their first jobs -- Terry Francona had four losing seasons in four years with the Phillies from 1997-2000, and Joe Torre had five losing seasons in five years with the Mets from 1977-81. Smart managers, smart people, learn and get better. So … what did Shelton learn, and how does he intend to use it in his second go-round?

On the 2019 “Bomba Squad” Twins, for whom Shelton was bench coach, five players hit at least 30 home runs, but only two topped 100 RBIs. Who led that team in RBIs, with 109?

A. Nelson Cruz

B. Max Kepler

C. Jorge Polanco

D. Eddie Rosario

Twins No. 4 prospect (No. 69 overall) Emmanuel Rodriguez hit his second homer of the Winter League season on Wednesday, and it was impressive. Rodriguez showed his easy opposite-field power with an eighth-inning, tiebreaking blast against long-time big leaguer Pedro Strop, and you can see it here.

Rodriguez is playing for Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League.

D. Rosario. He was fourth on the team with 32 homers but amassed a career-high 109 RBIs.

• The Smashing Pumpkins, “Snail”
• Francis of Delirium, “Mirrors”
• The Postal Service, “Recycled Air”
• Modest Mouse, “Gravity Rides Everything”
• Flight Mode, “Go”

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