The field staff will continue to see more changes, as the offseason continues, but the first major addition was announced on Thursday. While MN Twins fans haven’t had a lot to cheer about in recent years, they’ll like this hire. because it sure will be nice to see LaTroy Hawkins back in a Twins jersey again.

LaTroy Hawkins named MN Twins bullpen coach

And when Hawkins puts that uniform back on, he’ll do so as the Minnesota Twins’ new bullpen coach. It’ll be the first time LaTroy has donned Twins threads since the end of the 2003 season, his last of nine years as a Twins relief pitcher.

NEWS: LaTroy Hawkins will be the Twins bullpen coach next season. Great get for Derek Shelton’s first staff in Minnesota, landing the 21-year MLB veteran.

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) November 7, 2025

Hawkins is the first new name to join Derek Shelton’s coaching staff, but he isn’t the first change. Shelton has yet to name a bench coach, but will have a new face there.

Assistant bench coach Hank Conger has also been notified that he will not be back with the team, according to Dan Hayes (The Athletic), who’s also reporting that Colby Suggs — Minnesota’s bullpen coach since 2022 — could be on his way to Texas.

Welcome back, LaTroy Hawkins!

Now 52 years old, LaTroy Hawkins isn’t new to the Twins clubhouse or Target Field. In recent seasons, he’s worked in an advisor role for Minnesota during Spring Training. He’s als been a special assistant to general manager, Jeremy Zoll.

Beyond his duties with the team, Hawkins also worked as a rotating color analyst on the Twins.TV broadcast team. It was reported recently that the 21-year MLB veteran was looking to get back on the field, and thankfully, that’ll be with the Twins.

LaTroy Hawkins was selected by the Minnesota Twins straight out of high school, in the 7th round of the 1991 MLB Draft. In his nine seasons as a Twin, LaTroy compiled a 5.05 ERA in 818 innings.

The Gary, Indiana native made 98 starts for Minnesota, before he was converted to a reliever — a role he flourished in for the rest of his career, which finally came to a conclusion in 2015 with a big league career 4.31 ERA in 1,467 1/3 innings pitched.

Shelton will now have Hawkins working with arguably the most important position to improve on the roster. The bullpen was gutted at the trade deadline, and a man with 944 relief appearances will be the last face arms see before entering mid-game.

Multiple changes for MN Twins coaching staff

Tingler will be working with new San Francisco Giants manager, and former Missouri teammate, Tony Vitello. Conger moved into the dugout this season and has been a name on the rise. Although he won’t be back for Minnesota, it won’t be a shock if he finds something quickly.

It remains to be seen how Shelton will fill out the rest of his staff. Tommy Watkins, who’s been the Twins’ third base coach for the past couple seasons, is the longest tenured member of the organization. He was taken in the 38th round of the 1998 draft, debuted in 2007, and has never left the franchise since.

Unequivocally that’s not true, and again specifically to the Minnesota Twins, it reflects more of the front office influence than it does the manager. A transition of power to a new voice could change that reality, and the coaching staff may help to bridge the gap as well.

Depending on how things work out for the Twins managerial search, former veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins would be interested in a role, and he wants to do things differently.

LaTroy Hawkins ready to be an old school coach for MN Twins

The Minnesota Twins have yet to pick a replacement for Rocco Baldelli. They are closing in on a couple of different candidates, but the staff for that manager will take some time to sort of. If LaTroy Hawkins has his druthers, and the ideal leader, he’d be in on stepping into the dugout according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes.

“Throwing 100 miles an hour, RPMs and vertical break — we’re so caught up in them, We forget there’s a human element to it, the mental part of the game. The numbers don’t tell if you have an argument with your wife or your significant other on the way to the ballpark. They don’t care if your kid is in the hospital. (A player) can sit down and talk to somebody that doesn’t have a PhD behind their name that’s actually been through it. … It humanizes (the situation) for that individual and it gives them an extra (motivation) because somebody else has been through it.

My value was in teaching the young guys from the neck up, understanding that they’re able to talk to somebody who’s been through what they’re gonna go through. Having that trust and that bond of the kids being able to talk to another professional athlete who had the same aspirations that they had at that same age and was able to get to the highest level.”

LaTroy Hawkins – The Athletic

The Twins will always have plenty of voices that can talk to the nuances of analytical advancement. That is now, and should be forever, a part of the game. Figuring out ways to generate the highest level of development from each individual player is a must.

Hawkins is old school having ended his career a decade ago. However, he pitched 21 years in the big leagues and survived with a career 4.31 ERA. That wouldn’t have happened without a level of adaptation, and he remains around the game at 52 to understand what is taking place now.

What gets lost in that fray is marrying the sport with the reality that players are still human beings. The more that there can be a crossover between both ideals, the better the execution and production presents itself as a whole.

So much success for organizations at this point is reflective of communication. The open channels between the front office and dugout, then buy in between staff and players, comes down to trust and understanding. Hawkins already has developed relationships, and can operate as a liaison for multiple different parties.

Like Minnesota Twins fans, Hawkins will be waiting to see who is hired before getting excited. Going from the broadcasting booth to the dugout is a substantial increase in duties. It sounds like it would be one he’s willing to make under the right circumstances.

The 2006 A.L. MVP, Justin Morneau, will be returning to the Minnesota Twins franchise.

No, no, no, he won’t be throwing on a uniform and Molitor won’t be writing “DH” behind his name, in the book. Nope, per the Canadian Baseball Network, the 36 year-old will be retiring from the game and joining the Twins organization as a special assistant. But, like so many who leave Minnesota (including “regular” people), Justin Morneau is coming back.

Like Nemanja Bjelica’s points, events come in threes. Earlier this week, it was announced that Brad Childress intends to retire from coaching. Hours later, Twitter was humming over Tracy Claeys becoming Washington State’s defensive coordinator. It was only natural that this Morneau hiring happened. It’s also satisfying that this one will actually be coming back to Minnesota.

We needed the third well-known player/coach with Minnesota ties to make a career change. For the purpose of preserving the Vikings’ staff, let’s hope it’s the third and final…

Justin Morneau’s last big league action came in 2016 with the White Sox. After only playing 58 games that season, he was forced to sit out all of 2017. The official announcement regarding his hiring and retirement as a player is expected to be made later this week. As for the status of his acting career, that remains unclear.

You would imagine it’s a bitter-sweet day for Morneau. On one hand, he gets to return to the organization that drafted him and the one he won an MVP Award for. On the other, it’s likely concussion issues played a big role in his retirement. It definitely effected his career.

However, It wasn’t that long ago (2014), when the Canuck was the N.L. Batting Champion. As for the previously mentioned 2006 MVP season, he finished that campaign with a career high 34 HRs and 130 RBIs. Morneau’s .321 BA was the second best of his 14 year MLB career.

The 2008 Home Run Derby winner finishes his playing days with 247 HRs, a .281 BA, and ended up only 15 RBIs shy of 1,000.

Justin Morneau’s Twins Statistics:

His first Minnesota tenure ended in the fall of 2001, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With the hiring of our new special assistant; Morneau, Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins, and Michael Cuddyer are all now members of the Twins front office.

That’s a pitcher, a left-handed bat, and two right-handed hitters. We need another sweet swinging southpaw in there soon to balance things out. It doesn’t have to happen immediately, but I like to think it’d be within the next five years. As for who that could potentially be?

Oh, I have no idea………………….

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com