Another coach for the Minnesota Twins has been lured elsewhere, as bench coach Derek Shelton has been hired as the new manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Shelton, manager Rocco Baldelli’s right-hand man on the bench, was rumored to be a candidate for numerous managerial openings across Major League Baseball before news of his hire in Pittsburgh came Wednesday.
The Pirates have hired Derek Shelton as our 41st Manager of the organization.
Shelton has 15 years of coaching experience and spent the last two seasons as the bench coach of the Minnesota Twins. pic.twitter.com/nbm6Es4Qoc
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 27, 2019
Shelton’s departure comes on the heels of hitting coach James Rowson being hired by the Miami Marlins. And as The Athletic’s Dan Hayes points out, Shelton is the fifth member of the Twins’ organization to be hired away this offseason.
The #MNTwins staff has been pilfered all offseason. Each coach got an MLB promotion.
They’ve now lost:
— Bench coach Derek Shelton
— Hitting coach James Rowson
— Asst pitching coach Jeremy Hefner
— MiLB hitting coord Peter Fatse
— MiLB catching coord Tanner Swanson— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) November 27, 2019
Along with Rowson, Shelton is credited for helping hitters like Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler put together career years in Minnesota. Shelton has 15 years of MLB coaching experience, including seven years as the hitting coach in Tampa Bay under revered skipper Joe Maddon.
“My family and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Pittsburgh community and are humbled to be a part of this storied franchise,” Shelton said in a release. “One of the most exciting things for me during the interview process was just how evident the passion for Pittsburgh and the desire to succeed was with everyone I interacted with.
No word on who the Twins will hand the bench coach job to for the 2020 season.
