Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Three potential candidates have emerged as the Minnesota Twins’ search to replace longtime manager Rocco Baldelli is underway.
A source confirmed the Twins are conducting interviews with James Rowson, Derek Shelton and Ramon Vazquez, which the New York Post first reported earlier on Tuesday.
Rowson spent three seasons as the Twins’ hitting coach and currently serves in that role for the Yankees, Vazquez is the Boston Red Sox bench coach and Shelton served as the Twins’ bench coach for two years before managing the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Rowson, 49, was a popular coach during his time in Minnesota, leading the Bomba Squad to a major-league record 307 home runs in 2019. He was particularly close to Byron Buxton, flying into town in the winter for the center fielder’s celebratory press conference after he signed his seven-year contract extension in 2021.
Fresh off the success of the 2019 season, Rowson was named the Miami Marlins’ bench coach. He returned to a hitting coach role with the Detroit Tigers in 2023 before joining the Yankees in 2024.
Rowson, who has been talked about as a potential managerial candidate for years, and Shelton, 55, were both part of Baldelli’s first coaching staff, and both departed after the 2019 season.
Shelton, who was a finalist the last time the Twins had a managerial opening, went to Pittsburgh, where he managed for more than four years before being fired during the middle of the 2025 season.
He was a longtime coach before that, getting his first major league opportunity in 2005. In all, he has been on five different MLB coaching staffs, serving as hitting coach, quality control coach, bench coach and manager.
Vazquez is the only one of the three who has not worked for the Twins. The 49-year-old spent parts of nine seasons as a major league infielder before coaching and then managing in the minor leagues. After one year on the San Diego Padres’ coaching staff, he joined the Boston’s coaching staff in 2018 and has served in a number of roles since then.
The Twins are one of eight teams currently searching for a manager after Baldelli’s seventh season in charge ended with 92 losses and a second consecutive fourth-place finish. Two other teams — the Pirates and Texas Rangers — have already filled their jobs with internal candidates.
