Report: Yankees Blocked Former Twins Coach From Returning

This offseason the Minnesota Twins went through a significant amount of change on the coaching staff. Rocco Baldelli is out as manager. His friend Derek Shelton is in.

Before the Twins announced Shelton as their new skipper, then team president Derek Falvey had narrowed the search to two finalists — he and another one-time Minnesota assistant, James Rowson, who served as Twins hitting coach from 2017-2019.

For the past two seasons, Rowson has been employed as New York Yankees hitting coach. Between his time coaching batters in the Twin Cities and Big Apple, the now 49-year-old former minor league dropout held the same position in Miami and Detroit.

The Minnesota Twins still think highly of Rowson, clearly. Because even after Falvey chose Shelton as their new manager, reports later revealed that he tried to hire Rowson as his bench coach.

James Rowson’s MN Twins reunion thwarted by Yankees

Now we know why it didn’t happen. According to Charley Walters (Pioneer Press), it wasn’t because Rowson was salty that he came in runner up in his bid for manager.

Instead, Shooter writes that Rowson was ready to accept the new position offered to him back in Minnesota… until the Yankees blocked it from happening.

Because it wasn’t a manager position the Twins were offering, the Yankees were allowed to block James Rowson from making a “lateral move” back to Minnesota — a contractual right they reportedly exercised.

Runner-up for the Twins’ managing job that Derek Shelton got last October was James Rowson, the Twins’ former hitting coach who is hitting coach for the New York Yankees. After Shelton got the job, he tried to hire Rowson as his bench coach, but the Yankees declined permission. Had he been permitted, people who know say Rowson would have accepted a Twins bench coaching offer.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

As a hitting coach, Rowson has been hired in that capacity since 2017. He has worked for the Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, Detroit Tigers, and now New York Yankees. Although he clearly has performed well in that post, the bench coach title would have been a step up.

Had Rowson been able to take up the new position, he would have further substantiated his resume for future managerial consideration. He also would’ve been “next man up” in the case that Shelton missed any games this season. Ultimately, the Twins hired Mark Hallberg (Giants) as Shelton’s bench coach.

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