In another sign of a collapsing sports franchise, the Minnesota Twins fired seven-year manager Rocco Baldelli a day after they ended their 70-92 season. The once-promising campaign fell apart due to injuries, disappointing seasons for some of their key players, and younger Twins players not living up to their potential.

Despite their record, this comes as somewhat of a surprise to the Twin Cities sports community because the team owners, the Pohlad family, had more or less guaranteed that Baldelli would be back in 2026. Also, Baldelli, in the last month of the season, had incorporated a more up-tempo, aggressive approach on the basepaths, which seemed to unite the young team and played off their strengths.

Twins Announce Baldelli Firing

Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey made this announcement today.

“Over the past seven years, Rocco has been much more than our manager. He has been a trusted partner and teammate to me in leading this organization,” said Twins president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey. “Together we shared a deep care for the Twins, for our players and staff, and for doing everything in our power to put this club in the best position to succeed. Along the way, we experienced some meaningful accomplishments, and I will always be proud of those, even as I wish we had ultimately achieved more.

“This is a difficult day because of what Rocco represents to so many people here. He led with honesty, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to our players and staff. He gave himself fully to this role, and I have tremendous respect and gratitude for the way he carried himself and the way he showed up every single day.

“This game is ultimately measured by results, and over the past two seasons, we did not reach the goals we set. I take personal responsibility for that. After discussions with ownership, we determined that this is the right moment for a change in voice and direction. This decision is not a reflection of Rocco’s effort or leadership. It reflects where we are as an organization and the belief that a different voice is needed to help us move forward.”

What Happened?

Two years after advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, the Pohlad’s opted to cut the team’s payroll by $30 million. With Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and Pablo Lopez eating up 45% of the payroll for the 2024 season, Baldelli and the Twins could not aggressively compete in the free agent market. Yet the team stayed competitive until a spate of injuries to key players led to a 9-18 record in September, which knocked the team out of playoff contention.

After the season, the Pohlad family announced they were putting the team up for sale, giving fans hope that new ownership might come in and boost the team’s payroll, thus enabling the Twins to field a more competitive team. And although the 2025 season started with some promise, injuries to Royce Lewis and Lopez, and disappointing performances by young prospects Eddie Julien, Jose Miranda, Matt Wallner, and others left the team in a selling position when the Major League Baseball trade deadline approached at the end of July.

And to everyone’s surprise, over the course of a few days, the Twins unloaded 11 players before the deadline, drastically cutting their payroll and acquiring mostly “not ready for primetime” prospects. In these trades, Baldelli and the team lost Correa, relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, and everyday stalwarts Willi Castro and Harrison Bader.

With 40% of his team gone, Baldelli and the Twins limped to a 19-35 record after the trade deadline. And to add insult to injury, the Pohlad family announced before the season ended that they were not selling the team, but instead, bringing in two unknown investors to pay down the team’s $500 million deficit.

Goodbye Rocco and Thanks,

Baldelli leaves the Twins as the third-winningest manager in team history. He also led Minnesota to division titles in 2019, 2020, and 2023. Known as a “player’s manager,” Rocco always had a good rapport with his players. He also embraced a more analytical approach to the game, a trait missing in previous Twins managers.

Goodbye, Rocco Baldelli! Thanks for the memories and good luck in your future endeavors.