Sources: Twins pick Shelton to be next manager

The Minnesota Twins are hiring former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton to be the team's new manager, sources confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

Shelton, who was fired on May 8 as the Pirates quickly slipped into last place in the National League Central, will replace Rocco Baldelli, who was fired by Minnesota on Sept. 29.

Shelton formerly served as bench coach of the Twins in 2018 and 2019, which was Baldelli's first season in Minnesota.

He then was named manager of the Pirates in November 2019 as part of a franchise-wide reset by owner Bob Nutting. It was his first major league managing job after serving as a coach in various capacities in Tampa Bay, Toronto and Minnesota, and he went 306-440 in his five-plus seasons with Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh won less than 40% of its games in Shelton's first three seasons before taking a step forward in 2023 when it won 76 games. Paul Skenes' arrival in 2024 gave the franchise another jolt, and the Pirates were in playoff contention until an August swoon. In 2025, the Pirates' offense under Shelton languished near the bottom of the NL.

The Twins, who were expected to contend for the AL Central title this season, faltered in June and became active at the trade deadline, sending away 10 players while cutting $26 million from the payroll. The team went 23-43 after the All-Star break to finish fourth in the division with a 70-92 mark.

The Twins finished with the fourth-worst record in the major leagues and their worst mark since 2016.

Attendance swooned at Target Field this season, with the Twins finishing with an 81-home game total of a little more than 1.7 million tickets sold, their lowest number in a non-pandemic season since 2000, when they played at the Metrodome and finished 69-93.

The New York Post first reported news on Shelton's hiring with the Twins.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.