The Minnesota Twins are entering a new chapter with Derek Shelton at the helm, and the biggest question hanging over the franchise is whether or not the former Pittsburgh Pirates skipper can bring winning baseball back to Target Field.
Shelton was officially hired on October 30, 2025, replacing Rocco Baldelli after the Twins finished 70-92 in 2025 and landed in fourth place in the American League Central.
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Shelton is no stranger to Minnesota.
He served as the Twins’ bench coach under both Paul Molitor in 2018 and Baldelli in 2019, helping the club win 101 games during the famous “Bomba Squad” season.
He comes in with a career managerial record of 306-440 from his time with the Pirates, but the context behind those numbers matters more than the record itself.
Why It Could Work
Despite the losing record in Pittsburgh, Shelton took over a Pirates team that was deep in a rebuild and routinely ran one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.
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Minnesota is a different situation.
The Twins kept their core of Joe Ryan, Byron Buxton and Pablo Lopez instead of trading them, which signals the organization still believes it can compete.
Ryan posted a 3.42 ERA with 194 strikeouts last season and earned his first All-Star nod, while Buxton hit .264 with 35 home runs across 126 games.
The rotation depth is the best it has been in years, with young arms like Taj Bradley, Simeon Woods Richardson and Zebby Matthews all pushing for spots.
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Shelton has also made a strong early impression by bringing a back-to-basics approach to spring training, inspired by a conversation with legendary Twins manager Tom Kelly.
He showed the team video of playoff mistakes caused by poor fundamentals and made it the focus of his very first team meeting, which could help a young roster avoid the sloppy play that hurt Minnesota last season.
Why It Could Fail
The concerns start at the top.
The Twins did not make a major splash this offseason, and the additions of Josh Bell, Victor Caratini and Taylor Rogers are not the kind of moves that dramatically change a team’s outlook.
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The bullpen remains a big question mark with no clear closer and limited high-leverage experience.
Ownership instability has also defined the last year, from the Pohlad family exploring a sale to a mid-season fire sale that saw 10 players traded at the deadline.
Derek Falvey’s departure from the front office just weeks before spring training only added more change.
The AL Central got tougher too, with Detroit signing Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander, so a lot has to go right for Minnesota to sneak into the Wild Card conversation, including bounce-back years from Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner.
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The Bottom Line
Shelton has the experience, the respect of his players and a real connection to this organization.
Whether or not his tenure becomes a success will depend just as much on what happens around him as what happens on the field.