Twins hire Derek Shelton as manager

The Minnesota Twins hired Derek Shelton as their manager, the team announced Thursday.

Shelton replaces Rocco Baldelli, who was the Twins' skipper for seven seasons until they dismissed him after their 92-loss 2025 campaign.

The 55-year-old Shelton spent most of the last six years managing the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he amassed a 306-440 record before being fired this past May. Shelton's Pirates teams never finished higher than fourth place and twice lost 100 games.

Before getting the Pirates job, Shelton spent two years in Minnesota's dugout as bench coach under then-manager Paul Molitor.

Managerial stability has become commonplace in Minnesota; Shelton will become the fifth person to manage the Twins over the last 39 years. However, the team has won just one playoff series and three playoff games since 2003 and last won a World Series in 1991.

The Twins won the AL Central in 2023 but missed the playoffs after a late-season collapse in '24. This past summer, they embarked on a deadline-day fire sale en route to their first 90-loss season since 2016.