MINNEAPOLIS: The Minnesota Twins are set to appoint former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton as their new manager, international media reported on Wednesday.
The World Series is underway, but the rest of Major League Baseball (MLB) is already preparing for the next season.
Only days ago, the San Francisco Giants signed Tennessee manager Tony Vitello on a three-year deal. Just a few days later, Craig Albernaz, a former Cleveland Guardians associate manager, was hired as the new skipper of the Baltimore Orioles.
According to reports, on Wednesday, the Twins have decided to bring Shelton on as manager for the 2026 season.
Before his job at Pittsburgh, Shelton was Minnesota’s bench coach. His previous experience with the Twin Cities could help him achieve goals with the team that the club failed to accomplish in 2025.
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Derek Shelton’s record as manager:
Shelton joined the Pirates in 2019 following a roster-wide rebuild. He succeeded in increasing the team’s win percentage during the first four years of his tenure at the club, culminating in a 76–86 record in 2023.
Unfortunately, the Pirates repeated that record in 2024 and then got off to a terrible start in 2025. The team went just 12-26 (.316) under Shelton before he was dismissed, and the Pirates ended the season with a 71-91 (.438) record.
Shelton started his professional coaching career with Cleveland in 2003 as a minor league hitting coordinator. He was then appointed as the hitting coach at the Rays following the 2009 season. He was let go following the 2016 season, but was hired soon after to be a quality control coach for Toronto. In 2017, he was hired by the Twins as their bench coach.