MINNEAPOLIS — Rocco Baldelli will return for a seventh season as manager of the Minnesota Twins, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey confirmed on Sunday afternoon.
“Rocco is my manager,” Falvey said.
Questions about Baldelli’s status began to arise as the Twins fell apart over the final six weeks of the season, going from almost a sure thing of reaching the playoffs to flaming out and falling behind the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers. After reaching a season-high 17 games over .500 on Aug. 17, the Twins, who were eliminated with Friday night’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles, can finish the season no better than four games over with a win on Sunday.
Said Falvey: “Rocco and I, through this time, we do a decent job most days, or at least I try, to keep a steadiness in the way we go about our business. But behind the scenes, we’ve been gutted during this process trying to figure out how we fix it. That’s led to sleepless nights and challenging conversations and one-on-one conversations between he and I that will stay one-on-one, but have been at times really digging deep and trying to figure out how to fix it. I believe in his process, I believe in him, I believe in the partnership I have with him. That is how I feel and ultimately, that’s the way we’re going to go forward.”
Baldelli enters Sunday with a 457-412 record with Minnesota, good for a .526 career winning percentage. The Twins have won the American League Central three times in his six seasons but suffered collapses both this season and in 2022.
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(Photo: Nick Wass / Associated Press)
