The Twins have decided on a new manager, hiring ex-Pirates skipper Derek Shelton for the position, according to multiple reports.
Shelton got the job after Minnesota narrowed its candidates down to a four-man group that also included James Rowson. The Yankees’ hitting coach interviewed for the job shortly after the Bombers were eliminated from the ALDS.
Rowson, who oversaw baseball’s best regular season offense this year, was the Twins’ hitting coach from 2017-2019. Minnesota’s 2019 club set an MLB record with 307 home runs, which the Braves tied in 2023.
Once a Yankees and Mariners farmhand, Rowson has also held hitting-related jobs with the Tigers, Cubs and Angels. He spent three years as the Marlins’ bench coach under Yankee great Don Mattingly from 2020-2022.
A Mount Vernon, New York native who went to high school in the Bronx, Rowson served two coaching stints with the Yankees organization before joining Aaron Boone’s staff for the 2024 season. He was the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator from 2008-2011 and from 2014-2016. He also worked as the hitting coach for Single-A Tampa from 2006-2007.
Shelton, meanwhile, was the Twins’ bench coach from 2018-2019. He was a finalist for their managerial search in 2018, but the job went to Rocco Baldelli, who was fired on Sept. 29.
Shelton went on to manage the Pirates in 2020. He was fired from that position in May after going 306-440.
Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty and former Mariners manager Scott Servais were also among the finalists for Minnesota’s managerial vacancy.
