On Wednesday evening, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman announced that the Minnesota Twins had hired Derek Shelton to be the 15th manager in club history. The Twins decided to bring back their former bench coach, who had spent much of the last six seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It became clear that the familiarity that they felt with Shelton was paramount in their decision, and their choice makes sense, even if it was unexciting.
“We’ve seen firsthand the trust and respect he earns from players and how he helps them reach their best,” Twins President Derek Falvey said in a statement released by the club. “His journey, through both the successes and touch stretches, has given him real perspective as a leader.”
That perspective will be vital to Shelton’s success and the team’s ability to sustain progress in the coming years. But is it the outlook that this team needs if they hope to be successful in the near term?
However, another one of the finalists would have arguably been a wiser choice on paper if the club was hoping for more of an immediate rebound in 2026.
Former Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais was reportedly one of the final four candidates to be considered for the Twins job coming into this week. He, along with Shelton, former Twins hitting coach James Rowson, and current Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, were all vying for the role, and each would’ve brought a veritable contribution of perspectives to the gig.
Shelton brings familiarity with the organization and experience managing a smaller-market ballclub. Rowson has been a hitting coach for four different organizations now, and just helped lead the New York Yankees to another postseason berth. Flaherty is a recently retired player who served as second-in-command to Craig Counsell, one of the most respected managers in the game, in the Windy City.
But Servais is the only one of the bunch with a tangible record of having an immediate impact on a rebuilding club and of righting the ship through bumps in the road. The Mariners went from a 76-win, fourth-place team in the AL West in 2015 to an 86-win club in 2016 that just missed out on a postseason berth. They scored 17 percent more runs in the first year of his tenure, and had a marked improvement in their club’s success despite a lackluster pitching staff.
The M’s then weathered a mediocre campaign in 2017 (78-84), but returned to prominence the following year with another tough-luck second-place finish despite a very strong 89-73 record. They continued riding the roller coaster with a downturn in 2019 and 2020, but came out of the pandemic with two consecutive 90-win seasons and an 88-win campaign in 2023.
Even after they dismissed Servais during the 2024 season, the club was sitting at 64-64, hardly a catastrophe. One could argue it was more of a panic move than a necessary firing.
Servais has shown he can right the ship, both in terms of near-term success as the team turns the page and in the aftermath of a lackluster season or two under his own watch.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that his experience with the Mariners would automatically transfer to the Twins. The variables are different, and the league itself has continued to grow and evolve in the short time that he’s been out of work. Twins fans and even writers covering the club have no idea what the interview process looked like for these candidates or how receptive either side was to the changes that would be needed for this partnership to work.
Still, based on the pick made, it certainly seems like familiarity and like-minded philosophies regarding in-game management played a huge role in the decision. If those really were the ultimate selling points for the Twins as they try to build long-term success, then it’s hard to argue against Shelton being their selection.
But for fans hoping for more of an immediate jolt to their chances of returning to relevance in 2026, Servais might end up being the regrettable one that got away.