8:40pm: Rowson, Shelton and Vázquez will all indeed get interviews, according to a Minnesota Star-Tribune report.
3:37pm: The Twins are looking for a new manager and are considering a current Yankee coach. According to reporting from Greg Joyce, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Twins are interested in Yankees hitting coach James Rowson. Clubs generally don’t stand in the way of their staff members seeking promotions with other clubs and the report notes that the Yanks have already given the Twins permission to speak with Rowson about the gig. The report also mentions Derek Shelton and Ramon Vazquez as potential candidates. MLBTR covered Vazquez earlier today.
Rowson, 49, has no managerial experience but has a long track record as a hitting coach. The Twins are surely familiar with his coaching abilities, as he was their hitting coach from 2017 to 2019. Minnesota’s bats fared well during that time, putting up a collective .260/.330/.445 line over those three campaigns. That translates to a 105 wRC+, which trailed only four clubs for that span. The 2019 club was particularly successful, hitting 307 home runs. That was the juiced-ball season but the Twins still led the league in putting that ball over the fence.
Going into 2020, he jumped to the Marlins with the titles of bench coach and offensive coordinator. Miami didn’t have especially strong offense during his time there but the club wasn’t trying especially hard to win, playoff appearance in the shortened 2020 season notwithstanding. Rowson then spent 2023 with the Tigers as assistant hitting coach before getting his current gig as the Yankees hitting coach.
Separating the contributions of the players versus a coach is always difficult but the Yanks have performed well under Rowson. The Yanks had a .248/.333/.429 line last year, translating to a league-leading 118 wRC+. This year, it was a .251/.332/.455 slash, again topping the league with a 119 wRC+.
Obviously, having a slugger like Aaron Judge on the roster helps but Rowson appears to be respected around the game, based on his continued employment. Whether his experience with hitters can translate to the larger role of manager is something the Twins will have to debate as they pursue various candidates to replace Rocco Baldelli, who was fired last month. For the Yankees, they will have to find a new hitting coach if Rowson ends up getting the gig in Minnesota.
Shelton brings more managerial experience, though without much success in the role. He managed the Pirates from 2020 to 2025, getting fired in May of this year. He produced a 306-440 record while at the helm of the Pirates. That’s obviously a poor mark but Pittsburgh has been rebuilding for that stretch, so it’s debatable how much of that record should be attributed to Shelton’s managerial abilities.
Photo courtesy of John Meore, Imagn Images
They should give permission to interview Baboone! This is the only clear choice.
Agreed. This job isn’t appealing to someone experienced – It’s for someone looking to build a resume and find something else later.
It is appealing to Shelton and anyone else who needs the work.
There are only 30 such positions in the world.
yep
Derek Shelton lololol the twins are insane to even consider this MORON as a candidate
Hes a buffoon.
He might want to wait and see if Boone gets fired in case he wants the Yankee job.
Boone is safe, as long as Cashman runs the show. Plus Hal loves them both, neither are going anywhere.
unfortunately
Hal views Cashman as a success because he has them in the postseason yearly, and most importantly he has them competitive so that Yankee Stadium is always filled. It’s about the money. With George, it was about winning, which drove revenue. With Hal, it seems more about the revenue and profit, while being the last team standing seems less important.
It’s been like this since 2009. Otherwise, they would have the highest payroll. If George was still alive, he would’ve both signed Juan Soto and Max Fried.
YBC, I think there are additional challenges today George didn’t face, but overall I agree. He would have put his foot on the neck a few times since 2017 to get the team over the hump. He understood what Hal doesn’t. Hal is leading with the revenue cart; George knew that winning was the ultimate revenue generator.
George was very ego-driven. But I agree that the LTT may have changed his perspective. Soto is a bonafide star and he will most likely enter the HOF donning a Mets cap. That’s worth paying for. Hal hasn’t spoken to the media at all during the season if I remember correctly.
The question is was there a price that the Yankees could have offered that Cohen wouldn’t exceed. I don’t think there was. Cohen had to have Soto and could not lose the bidding war. Boras and Soto knew that, hence why Soto got a contract that may not be exceeded in the next decade, if not more.
My fun-and-almost-entirely-wrong prediction: I can see Soto becoming New York baseball’s first true two-team star. Soto has already put in a very successful year with the Yankees. He now has a 14 year deal with the Mets, but an opt out after the fifth year. The Mets have total control of the option if they raise his salary to 51 million a year. Stearns analytics brain really doesn’t like the idea of paying Soto well into his mid-30s to 40. The Mets might decide to take Soto’s last five peak years in his 20s, then they let him opt out. He then returns to the Yankees.
Likely? No. Impossible? No.
@Rob
The only time the Yanks won under GS SR was in the late 70s. He gets no credit for 96-2000 because he was in charge. Ppl seem to forget the awful drought from 1981 thru 1994. I love GS SR intentions and heart but stop romanticizing things. He was directly responsible for a lot of horrible trades, hiring and firings and had the Yanks looking like the laughing stock of baseball for a while.
Who knows. Lol. I know the luxury suite was a big talking point. Sign Skenes and let Soto walk perhaps.
They offered Soto 3/4 of a billion dollars and you still want to call them thrifty. Please stop comparing the economics of today vs the 80s and 90s. Not even close. It was clear that they were using the Yanks to run the price up menstrual Steve Cohen told them to circle back and give them a shot to best any offer they had. Sometimes you just can’t get everyone you want and it’s not because your cheap. Be reasonable.
No disagreement from me as I lived through the entire George Steinbrenner run. He actually did revitalize the organization, but it was Gabe Paul who put on the finishing touches that brought the Yankees back to the World Series through trades for Chambliss, Nettles and others. And it was Gene Michael who built the dynasty. George traded away potential championships in the ’80s by gutting the farm. I could also go into why he also deserves credit, but I’ll stay with the simple message here that it was Paul and Michael who did the heavy lifting.
@KnicksFanCavsFan Hey! Can we not do the inflammatory tone and have a chill discussion even if we disagree? There’s not enough of that here especially among Yankees fans.
@YBC
“Inflammatory tone”? Did you are way too sensitive. What language did I use that makes you say this?
I think there’s little doubt about that. Hell, George would have given Soto as many stadium suites as he wanted for every extended member of his family if that’s what it took to sign him.. Was a mixed bag with George, though, always.
If Rowson gets hired away, I think asst. hitting coach Dykes or Roessler gets promoted.
If James Rowson gets hired away. I think one of their assistant hitting coaches gets promoted.
If Boone ever gets let go, I’ve been hearing Shelly Duncan is next. The blame is from top to bottom. Steinbrenner not wanting to go above and beyond like his Queens Counterpart. Cashman not signing the correct free agents Boone not disciplining his players when things go wrong and the players who showed very little pride and desire after Judge hit the HR of the pole. The players failed. You’re not supposed to lose a BP game at home after that HR by Judge. The very least force a next game.
Boone’s two-year extension doesn’t start until next season. I don’t see the son of George doing anything with Boone until after 2027, unless he makes a change with Cashman, whose contract expires after next season. The new head of baseball opps might then remove Boone just as Stearns basically removed Showalter across town. I don’t see Cashman ever leaving, but he might be kicked upstairs into an advisor role.
If Duncan gets a job anywhere, I hope the Rays win every game 100-0 against his team. He is a dirty player and tried to take out Iwamura and spiked him.
@mlb
Who are the “correct” free agents he didn’t sign?
@mlbnyyfan There’s a lot of magical thinking in this post. Not being the craziest guy in the room when there’s three quarters of a billion dollars on the table isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Magically identifying the “correct” FAs is not a thing. Resorting to a BP game in the playoffs is a sign of injuries, not weak-willed players.
Um, the Twins ALWAYS go with the inexperienced manager. The last time they hired a manager with MLB experience was Gene Mauch in 1976. Seriously, that’s 50 years. And of those eight hires since 1976 the only two that weren’t promoted from within the organization were Mauch and Rocco Baldelli.
That is an excellent observation.
I remember that dude quite well. A fine manager and baseball man. Too bad he never got the ring after all those yrs in the game.
Pohlads are low class and so was Dave St Peter, the worst President. He couldn’t complete a sentence without getting permission . Gutless but perfect for the Pohlads.
Wow, I thought for sure that Gardenhire and Molitor were experienced. That’s crazy.
Derek Shelton can be a valuable member of a coaching staff, but he shouldn’t be a manager. He knows a lot about hitting but his bullpen management is terrible.
He may know a lot about hitting but it did not help the Pirates.
Sow’s ear, something, something, silk purse.
Good for him. Glad to see him getting some serious recognition.
Derek Shelton? That’s a joke right? LOL Does the Ad say, Manager wanted must work cheap? Wow
Rowsom was hitting coach of the “Bomba Squad” Twins. I could see him getting the job
That team was so annoying, especially that cheating ‘roid user Nelson Cruz.
Fire Baldelli and then interview two of his former assistants. This organization is a disaster.
Give Borgy, their hitting coach, a shot.
Shelton says he has learned from his mistakes and will do better next time. At least he has learned to stay positive through multiple years of fail.