{"id":272761,"date":"2025-11-05T09:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T09:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/272761\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T09:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T09:46:11","slug":"reflection-period-helped-derek-shelton-land-twins-manager-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/272761\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection period helped Derek Shelton land Twins manager job"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Derek Shelton spent the first couple of weeks after his\u00a0firing by the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a>\u00a0in his feelings, bitter about the dismissal just 38 games into his sixth season as manager and defiant about his ability to do the job well.<\/p>\n

That sudden free time turned out to be an unexpected gift. As he candidly assessed in conversation with several confidants the approach he used, the adjustments he made and the lessons he learned, Shelton took the notes that helped him\u00a0land in Minnesota<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 because the Twins took notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly believe the reflection period is probably the reason that I\u2019m in this chair right now,\u201d Shelton said on Tuesday after his introductory news conference at Target Field as Minnesota\u2019s 15th manager. \u201cI think if that happens to you at the end of the season, it\u2019s really hard to turn that back around and be able to say, \u2018I could have done this differently.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Winning games won\u2019t be enough: How the Twins and Derek Shelton can start to win back fans<\/a> <\/p>\n

Twins president Derek Falvey already knew Shelton well, from their overlap in Cleveland when Falvey first began his career and the two seasons in Minnesota when Shelton worked as the bench coach for two different managers \u2014 Paul Molitor in 2018 and Rocco Baldelli in 2019 \u2014 before getting his big break with Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Falvey would call Shelton from time to time for an outside perspective while he was with Pirates, a relationship that unequivocally influenced the decision by the Twins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we were harder on him than maybe we were on other candidates,\u201d Falvey said. \u201cShelty and I talked about some of the real challenges that he had in Pittsburgh, very specific challenges, whether those were with players or staff or with the front office or otherwise, which we all have. These aren\u2019t easy jobs. They\u2019re challenging, and you go through them and you learn a ton. I was able to actually hit him on some of those things and say, \u2018How would you handle that differently? Because I know how you handled it then. I know what you were frustrated by.\u2019 That helped us a ton to kind of understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelton, who went 306-440 with the Pirates, didn\u2019t pull any punches from his side of the interview, either.<\/p>\n

The Twins, who\u00a0fired Baldelli<\/a>\u00a0with a 527-505 record after three AL Central titles in seven seasons but only one trip to the playoffs over his last five years, have cut costs since the 2023 team ended the club\u2019s professional-sports-record 18-game postseason losing streak and won a series for the first time since 2002. Executive chair Joe Pohlad led an exploration of a sale of the franchise his grandfather bought in 1984, before the family recently\u00a0opted to stay put<\/a>\u00a0and add yet-to-be-identified new investors to the ownership group to help pay down debt and reset the financial outlook.<\/p>\n

While neither Falvey nor Shelton would reveal a specific payroll target for 2026, in part because of the fluidity of the offseason transaction period that is just starting, both of them gave strong hints that they won\u2019t be asked to further pare down the roster and be forced to trade, say, one or both of their All-Star starting pitchers, Pablo L\u00f3pez and Joe Ryan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I sat down with Joe Pohlad, and I asked him the question, I said, \u2018What\u2019s on the table? What\u2019s off the table?\u2019 And his response to me was, \u2018Ask me anything you want,\u2019\u201d Shelton said. \u201cI got the answers that made me really want this job.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Shelton arrived with the Pirates, long one of the lowest-spending clubs in Major League Baseball while playing in one of its smallest markets, they were in clear starting-over mode. The Twins, despite their 10-player sell-off leading up to the trade deadline this past season, don\u2019t consider themselves to be in that same category.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal this offseason is not to take away from this team,\u201d Falvey said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to evaluate every opportunity that comes our way. There\u2019s going to be a lot of calls on players on our team because we think we have some talented players. I have little doubt that will be part of our process. At the same time, my personal goal is to find ways to augment and add around it.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB:\u00a0https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/MLB<\/a><\/p>\n

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