Rocco Baldelli’s Job is Not in Danger
Rocco Baldelli has been the manager of the Minnesota Twins since 2019 and his tenure has been a 313-280 rollercoaster ride void of any playoff victories. When he was first brought in, Rocco was hailed as a thought-provoking, analytics-friendly, players coach, perfect for the type of clubhouse atmosphere Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were trying to promote.
Baldelli immediately paid the Twins off on their hire, by leading them to two-straight playoff appearances in 2019 and a shortened 2020. But the Twins havn’t been back since and in his low moments, Rocco is continually chastised by writers, experts and fans alike for his quick hook on starting pitchers and failed in-game moves that bite the Twins in the ass far too often.
Rocco Baldelli isn’t going anywhere anytime soon
So, the 2023 season was supposed to be make-or-break for Rocco Baldelli as Minnesota Twins manager. But, according to Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic), his job appears to be secure after Falvine exercised multiple options on his contract before last season, locking him in through 2025. That’s 2.71 more seasons for anyone who is counting.
Rocco Baldelli, Twins: One rival executive, granted anonymity so he could speak freely, said his club’s preseason projections had the Twins as the team with the easiest path to a division title. That still appears to be the case, even though the Twins’ offense is inconsistent. Regardless, Baldelli appears secure.
The Twins’ original contract with Baldelli, 41, ran from 2019 to ‘22 with multiple club options, according to a source briefed on the terms. Before last season, the Twins exercised the options and extended Baldelli for an unknown period beyond that, putting him under contract through at least 2025.
Ken Rosenthal – The Athletic
There are a lot of fans, both on the internet and off, whose favorite thing to lament about Minnesota sports is the continued employment of Rocco Baldelli. This news will certainly frustrate all of those detractors in a big way.
Personally, I’ve seen a lot of growth in Rocco this season. He promised to let starters go deeper into games and the Twins now lead the MLB in innings pitched per start. He’s also hit on a bunch of in-game pinch-hit and pinch-run decisions in a way we haven’t seen since he took over.
Of course, I wish he’d stop putting Emilio Pagan into high leverage situations but he gets only a fraction of the blame with the Pagan debacle. Rocco isn’t the one making offseason bullpen decisions. Everyone except for the Twins front office knew that bringing one of the worst relievers in baseball back for another season was a stupid idea. And here we are.
Barring a complete and utter disaster during the next 115 games, Rocco Baldelli will remain the manager of the Minnesota Twins until the foreseeable future.
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan
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