After the team’s poorest showing in nearly a decade, the Minnesota Twins dismissed manager Rocco Baldelli on Monday.
Minnesota finished Baldelli’s seventh season at the helm with a record of 70-92 and finished fourth in the American League Central.
The Twins were 34-27 on June 4, but lost 10 of the next 12 games and plummeted to a 36-65 finish. They traded 10 players before the July 31 deadline, including All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa and closer Jhoan Duran.
The team had picked up Baldelli’s club option for 2026 during the summer, but Twins’ management felt it was time to change course.
“This game is ultimately measured by results, and over the past two seasons we did not reach the goals we set. I take personal responsibility for that,” Twins president, baseball and business operations Derek Falvey, said in a news release. “After discussions with ownership, we determined that this is the right moment for a change in voice and direction. This decision is not a reflection of Rocco’s effort or leadership. It reflects where we are as an organization and the belief that a different voice is needed to help us move forward.”
Baldelli, who turned 44 last Thursday, was a seven-year major league player with Tampa Bay (2003-04, 2006-08, 2010) and Boston (2009). He took over for Paul Molitor as manager in October 2018. He earned AL Manager of the Year honors in his initial campaign, leading the Twins to an 2019 AL Central title and 101-61 record. However, the New York Yankees eliminated Minnesota in three games in the AL Division Series.
They won the division in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and again in 2023. Minnesota snapped a string of six consecutive playoff series defeats as they knocked off Toronto in the 2023 AL wild-card series, but then fell, 3-1, to the Houston Astros in the ALDS.
Baldelli leaves the organization with the third-most wins in franchise history with a 527-505 (.511) ledger.
