Twins fire Baldelli after roster purge, 70-92 mark

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins fired manager Rocco Baldelli connected Monday, ending his seven-year tenure that included 3 American League Central titles aft a 2nd consecutive disappointing season.

"This is simply a hard time due to the fact that of what Rocco represents to truthful galore radical here," Twins president Derek Falvey said successful a statement. "He led with honesty, integrity, and an unwavering committedness to our players and staff. He gave himself afloat to this relation and I person tremendous respect and gratitude for the mode helium carried himself and the mode helium showed up each azygous day."

The Twins, who were expected to contend for the American League Central rubric this season, faltered successful June and became sellers astatine the commercialized deadline -- sending distant 10 players portion cutting $26 cardinal from the payroll -- and went 23-43 aft the All-Star interruption to decorativeness 4th successful the part with a 70-92 mark.

The Twins went 19-35 aft the commercialized deadline passed, with lone the Colorado Rockies faring worse implicit the last 2 months.

The Twins finished with the fourth-worst grounds successful the large leagues and their worst people since 2016, erstwhile they went 59-103 aft firing longtime wide manager Terry Ryan astatine midseason. Falvey was hired to regenerate Ryan aft that.

The 44-year-old Baldelli, who won the 2019 AL Manager of the Year grant arsenic a rookie, has led the Twins to 3 part titles. In 2023, Minnesota ended a grounds 18-game postseason losing streak and won its archetypal playoff bid 2002.

Baldelli has an wide grounds of 527-505 successful 7 seasons, and he's the third-winningest manager successful Twins past down Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire.

Attendance has swooned astatine Target Field, with the Twins finishing with an 81-home crippled full of a small much than 1.7 cardinal tickets sold, their lowest fig successful a non-pandemic play since 2000 erstwhile they played astatine the Metrodome and finished 69-93.

Fans person mostly directed their disdain toward ownership, with heavy vexation implicit cost-cutting that came aft the 2023 breakthrough. The Pohlad household enactment the franchise up for merchantability past year, but decided past period to support power and bring connected 2 caller concern groups for an infusion of currency to assistance wage down debt.

The dizzying trade-deadline enactment near Baldelli and his unit without overmuch to enactment with down the stretch, though All-Star halfway fielder Byron Buxton was a agleam spot successful a breakthrough play for his wellness and rookie 2nd baseman Luke Keaschall provided accordant accumulation and a nonrecreational attack astatine the sheet belying his inexperience.

The departures of shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Harrison Bader, archetypal baseman Ty France and multi-position subordinate Willi Castro robbed the lineup of acquisition and steadiness, but that was thing similar what happened to Baldelli's bullpen.

The Twins traded their 5 champion relievers, from person Jhoan Duran connected down, and near the last 54 games to a ragtag radical that had 8 blown saves successful 18 opportunities during that span. The conversion complaint of 44.4% ranked second-worst successful the large leagues implicit the last 2 months.

Baldelli was hired earlier the 2019 play to regenerate Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, with Falvey citing his adaptivity to the data-based absorption of shot strategy and his connection accomplishment successful distilling it to coaches and players and intelligibly mounting expectations and preferences.

"Over the past 7 years Rocco has been overmuch much than our manager. He has been a trusted spouse and teammate to maine successful starring this organization," Falvey said successful a statement. "Together we shared a heavy attraction for the Twins, for our players and staff, and for doing everything successful our powerfulness to enactment this nine successful the champion presumption to succeed.

"Along the mode we experienced immoderate meaningful accomplishments, and I volition a...