It’s been a long time since the Minnesota Twins had to search for a new manager.
There were 23 games remaining in the 1986 season when the Twins hired Tom Kelly to replace Ray Miller as the team’s manager.
Kelly managed the Twins for 16 seasons before he retired following the 2001 season, and then Ron Gardenhire took over the team for 13 more – until Monday, when Gardenhire and the Twins parted ways.
During a Monday afternoon press conference regarding the decision, Twins general Manager Terry Ryan said the team would open the position up to candidates from inside and outside the organization, but Ryan was clear he preferred someone from the inside.
Ryan: "We'll open it up to anybody and everybody. I don't think we should just stay within. That would be a nice preference."
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) September 29, 2014
So with that in mind here is a list of potential candidates from inside the organization.
Potential inside candidates
Paul Molitor – The Hall of Famer and Minnesota native might be the top name on the list. Twins blogger Rhett Bollinger calls Molitor the top “in house” candidate and Fan Sided says Molitor is expected to get serious consideration for the job.
Molitor just completed his first season as a coach for the Twins, but played for the team from 1996 to ’98 near the end of Tom Kelly’s run and has also worked to help develop some of the team’s minor-league prospects.
Knuckleballs believes the one drawback to Molitor could be his age, 58.
Paul Molitor will be a strong internal candidate to manage #Twins. Torey Lovullo could be considered if they look outside.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 29, 2014
Terry Steinbach – Another interesting candidate, he like Molitor was on the coaching staff and is a native of Minnesota. Steinbach was the bench coach and posted a 7-3 record the last two seasons when Gardenhire missed games or was ejected. Steinbach was also 5-0 in one-run games. He has also been rumored to be a candidate for the Arizona job.
Gene Glynn – Became the manager of the Twins Triple-A affiliate Rochester Red Wings, in 2012. 1500 ESPN reports Glynn has joined the team’s coaching staff in each of the last two Septembers. With the team’s history of promoting from within he can’t be ruled out.
Doug Mientkiewicz – The former Twins first baseman has been considered a rising star in the organization. He led the Twins Class A affiliate Ft. Myers to the 2014 Florida State League Championship. He also has worked with many of the top prospects in the organization including Kennys Vargas, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and J.O. Berrios in Ft. Myers.
Potential outside candidates
Ozzie Guillen – The former White Sox and Marlins manager, Guillen has been known to be rather outspoken. According to the Pioneer Press’ Mike Beradino, Guillen would be “very interested” in the Twins opening. With the number of the Twins’ Latin American prospects, Ryan said, “diversity will be part of this decision.”
Torey Lovullo – Lovullo is currently the Red Sox bench coach. He went with John Farrell to Boston in October 2012, and they won the World Series last year.
Dave Martinez – Martinez has been the bench coach for Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays since 2008. He is widely considered the most innovative manager in baseball.
Joe McEwing– McEwing is the White Sox third base coach. He has worked his way up through the system since joining the club as the manager of the Class A affiliate Winstom-Salem Dash.
Tony Pena – Was the A.L. Manager of the Year in 2003 with the Royals, but resigned in May of 2005. Pena has been with the New York Yankees since.
