Though highly visible and familiar names—mostly ex-players and those with direct ties to Minnesota who have lots of media savvy or easy name recognition—tend to pop up each time a managerial job opens up, the hottest candidates in baseball tend to be peo, would certain, would certainly ple you’ve barely heard of, When the Twins hired Rocco Baldelli after the 2018 seaspn, he was not widely known in Twins Territory. Already, we at Twins Daily have confirmed that the team has interest in Cleveland bench coach Craig Albernaz. Now, we have even more concrete evidence of an even more obscure (but very intriguing) candidate.
In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, MLB scoopster Jon Heyman reported that the Twins had asked the Red Sox for permission to talk to their bench coach, ex-infielder Ramón Vázquez, about taking the job at the top step of the first-base dugout at Target Field.
Vázquez, 49, would certainly be a less sexy signing than Baldelli was seven years ago. Whereas Baldelli had transitioned from a playing career as a budding star-turned-injury case to working in the Tampa Bay Rays front office and was known first for his familiarity with the behind-the-scenes things of the modern game, Vázquez is an in-uniform lifer. When his playing career ended, he moved into coaching, then managing in the minor leagues. He got back to the big leagues as a coach with the Padres in 2017, but joined Alex Cora when the latter took over as manager of the Red Sox in 2018. He’s worked in roles ranging from infield instruction to coordinating gameplans and advance scouting information, and thus, he’s had ample exposure to the analytical side of the game, as well. He coached the bases for Boston for three years, then stepped up to become Cora’s lieutenant as bench coach.
A Puerto Rico native who went to college in Iowa before being drafted in the 7th round, Vázquez rode buses in the minor leagues for a long time; played almost 700 games in parts of nine big-league seasons; and then went back to the minors to earn his way to the majors as a coach. He has every kind of experience as a coach and manager, and a strong reputation within the game for his breadth of knowledge and ability to develop rapport with young players. If hired, he would be the first person of color ever to manage the Twins.
We’re a long way from that happening, of course. Vázquez might not even end up actually interviewing; this is just a confirmation of the team’s interest. However, it’s nice to see signs of real movement in the search for the new skipper. The Twins need to get this hire right, and Vázquez is an interesting name to watch.