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.
The Twins are one of nine MLB teams who have changed managers this year.
Shelton 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.
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