Twins Will Need to Fill Some Serious Holes on Coaching Staff in 2020
By Michael Luciano
One of the main reasons that sustaining a dynasty in any sport is difficult is the fact that the best coaches and assistants from any given team will inevitably bolt elsewhere for a more high-profile gig.
Such is the case with the Minnesota Twins, who were a nice little underdog story after they wrestled the AL Central away from the Cleveland Indians with a high-powered offense. Earlier on Wednesday, bench coach Derek Shelton announced that he was leaving Target Field for the managerial spot with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pirates hire former Twins bench coach Derek Shelton as their manager pic.twitter.com/XbsPIJ1xGz
— Bleacher Report MLB (@BR_MLB) November 27, 2019
Shelton jumping ship would have been bad enough by itself, but Minnesota also lost one of the key cogs in the "Bomba Squad" machine that helped them blitz through the AL Central. Hitting coach James Rowson left the Twins to take the bench coach job with the Miami Marlins, leaving them without their presumed top choice to replace Shelton.
They have acted quickly finding a replacement, promoting minor-league hitting coordinator Edgar Varela to MLB hitting coach.
Twins have decided on a replacement for James Rowson, promoting Edgar Varela to MLB hitting coach after he served as their minor-league hitting coordinator for the past two seasons.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) November 25, 2019
Rowson left the Twins last month to become the Marlins' bench coach and offensive coordinator.
The Bomba Squad was defused by the New York Yankees in the playoffs, and now two of the three main architects of that lineup will be plying their trade in Miami and Pittsburgh in 2020. Let's see what Rocco Baldelli is really made of as a manager.