The Minnesota Twins’ search for a new manager may be nearing its conclusion, with news Friday night that the team has found four candidates who may be finalists for the job.
The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that former Twins assistants Derek Shelton and James Rowson are the favorites for the job, with Scott Servais and Ryan Flaherty also in the mix.
“Sources believe the Twins are leaning toward hiring a candidate with whom they’re familiar,” Hayes said. “Given their previous experience working with Twins president Derek Falvey and general manager Jeremy Zoll, Shelton and Rowson appear to be the strongest candidates.”
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Rowson, 49, was hired as the Twins’ hitting coach under manager Paul Molitor before the 2017 season. He remained in that role when Rocco Baldelli took over as Twins manager in 2019. That year, the ‘Bomba Squad’ Twins set a major league record with 307 home runs and won 101 games, marking just the second 100-win season in franchise history.
After the 2019 season, Rowson left to become the Marlins’ bench coach for three years. He spent 2023 with the Tigers and has spent the last two seasons as the Yankees’ hitting coach. While acknowledging that roster talent obviously matters, it’s worth noting that the Yankees led the league in home runs and OPS in 2025. The Twins were tied for 11th in homers and were 17th in OPS.
Shelton was the Twins’ bench coach under Baldelli — on the same staff as Rowson — in 2018 and ’19. He then spent the past five-plus seasons as the Pirates’ manager before being fired in May. He went 306-440 in Pittsburgh, but a talent-lacking roster and payroll limitations played into that lack of success.
Servais managed the Seattle Mariners from 2016 to 2024, winning 680 games compared to 642 losses. He took the Mariners to the playoffs just once (2022) in nine seasons.
Flaherty has been the bench coach for the Cubs since 2024.