While the Twins have been granted an extension by the Red Sox to interview bench coach Torey Lovullo a second time, that meeting has not taken place yet, according to a person with knowledge of the Twins search.
Lovullo is believed to be one of three candidates still in the running to replace Ron Gardenhire as Twins manager. Paul Molitor and Doug Mientkiewicz are the others. Lovullo first met with the Twins during the weekend of Oct. 11.
People in the industry believe Lovullo is ready to lead his own team after spending four years with John Farrell — two as first base coach under him in Toronto, followed by two seasons as bench coach in Boston.
After interviewing several candidates for the position, the Twins appear to be nearing the end of their search. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan, when reached on Thursday, clarified his comment a day earlier that he wasn't in the home stretch yet.
"I don't want to mislead anyone here," he said. "I still have a lot of work to do on this. But we are definitely on the backside of this."
The Twins could announce a new manager on Monday, a scheduled off day during the World Series. But some with the club have indicated that it's more likely to be announced after the World Series.
Class AAA Rochester manager Gene Glynn, White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing, Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar and Toronto bench coach DeMarlo Hale are the other candidates known to have interviewed with the club.
• Lefthander Kris Johnson is being sold to the Hiroshima Carp of the Japanese Central League. He spent most of the season with Rochester but was 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA in three starts with the Twins.
LA Velle E. Neal III
