MINNEAPOLIS — Not only is Rocco Baldelli’s job not in immediate danger, but the Minnesota Twins manager is under contract for next season, too.
Though the timing of the Twins’ decision is unclear, multiple sources confirmed the club picked up its team option for 2026 on Baldelli, who’s currently in his seventh season as manager.
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With the Twins in a nosedive, club president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the opinion of the front office is Baldelli and his coaching staff are doing everything they need to help turn around a club that entered Monday losing 13 of its last 17 games.
As he’s done for the past few years, Falvey declined to comment on Baldelli’s status with the club, saying the team doesn’t openly discuss contracts for personnel. But Falvey did endorse Baldelli when asked if the manager, who earlier this season was on the hot seat after a 7-15 start, is back under the microscope.
“It’s just making sure no one runs away from the work that is right in front of him, and Rocco is not running away from any of the work,” Falvey said. “My focus has been on how do I support him with that, because I do believe he’s got the players’ best interests at heart, and he’s trying to figure out how to solve a challenging equation that we’re all trying to navigate through. He’s not alone in that. We’re all side by side with him, as is the staff and as our core players. We’re trying to figure it out together.”
There’s been a steady increase in the public calls for Baldelli to lose his job during the club’s 4-13 stretch, one rife with horrible pitching, ugly defense and huge, early deficits.
In the aftermath of injuries to starting pitchers Pablo López and Zebby Matthews, Minnesota’s pitching staff is struggling. Over their previous 17 games, Twins pitchers carried a 7.22 ERA, allowing 128 runs (118 earned) in 147 innings. Position player Jonah Bride has appeared in four games during the run, and Twins pitchers have yielded nine runs seven times.
It’s the second time this season the Twins have melted down following a 12-27 collapse at the end of the 2024 season, one also driven by injuries to key players. Despite their struggles, Baldelli is determined to make this work, suggesting the Twins could use the opener strategy more often as they try to get their starting rotation back on track.
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“You’ve got to continue to prepare and you’ve got to wear it sometimes when it isn’t going the way you want,” Baldelli said. “But there is always a game tomorrow to focus on and think about. Probably a few nights where I’m not sleeping quite the way I want, but I get to play with my kids. I can’t think about baseball when I’m home playing with my kids.
“That’s probably the easiest way for me to get over whatever goes on at the field. I look forward to getting on a hot streak and living the life at that point because that’s what it feels like. It feels unbelievable when you’re walking around with your chest out, but you still have to walk around with your chest out and head up even when things aren’t going good.”
In response to missing the playoffs in 2024, Baldelli’s staff revamped the way it runs spring training this year, a plan that included more exhibition game action for anyone who was slated to make the roster. Even so, the Twins stumbled out of the gate and calls for Baldelli’s job were frequent in a period in which Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Colorado all made managerial changes.
During the offseason, and again early in the 2025 campaign, the Twins were decidedly vague when it came to Baldelli’s status, which led to more speculation he could be fired. Even earlier in the season, it was believed Baldelli was operating as a lame duck with the team mulling whether or not to pick up his option.
But when Falvey was asked about Baldelli on Monday, he quickly ruled out the possibility. While there’s no telling what he may have to do if the Twins dropped well out of contention, Falvey thinks the club will find a solution and Baldelli is the person to lead them.
Instead, the focus remains on how to improve a starting staff with three of five members struggling to tread water.
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“I’m around them a lot, I see them every day and we spend time talking on the phone when we’re not together,” Falvey said. “It’s what are you doing every day to show up to try to put this team in the best position to be successful win or lose the night before. You can’t do anything about yesterday or the week before. You have to try to figure out ways.”
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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