Many to blame for Twins' failures, but Rocco Baldelli is most likely to take the fall
Firing the manager might not solve many issues, but it would serve as a sign that ownership is paying some attention to the team.
News broke in late June that the Twins had picked up the option on Rocco Baldelli’s contract for 2026. This left many fans both bewildered and angry. Why would the Twins provide security to a manager whose team had suffered an epic second-half collapse in 2024, and was four games under .500 and 11.5 games back in the AL Central when The Athletic broke the story about the decision?
Three months later, the Twins are five games from finishing one of the most miserable seasons in franchise history. They are 21 games under .500, traded 10 of their players at the deadline and alienated what was left of their fan base when the Pohlad family announced they wouldn’t be selling controlling interest in the team after all.
I wrote that Baldelli should be fired after the Twins’ 4-11 start in April. That followed the team winning only 12 of its final 39 games last season after being 70-53 and in second place in the AL Central in mid-August. Baldelli’s message didn’t seem to be resonating with players, and there was still plenty of time to begin making the necessary corrections.
Now, there is so much blame to go around — starting with ownership and team president Derek Falvey — that Baldelli is only part of the problem.
Nonetheless, he seems like the logical candidate to take the fall — even though it would mean paying him for a year to not work. Falvey appears to be going nowhere, and while the Pohlads have proven to be out of touch, even they must have noticed the Twins’ home attendance figure of 1,768,728 was their lowest since 2000, when the team was playing in the Metrodome.