Dodgers executive Alex Anthopoulos could be Twins' front-office candidate

The Twins have begun interviewing front-office candidates as they look to restructure their baseball department.

After firing longtime General Manager Terry Ryan in July, the club would like to hire a president of baseball operations who would have the power to pick a GM. While they would like to have the position filled by the end of the regular season, they are prepared to search into the offseason because potential hires might be unavailable with teams in postseason play.

Indications are that team officials already have met with multiple candidates. Acting GM Rob Antony definitely will be interviewed.

One outside candidate has been identified, in a report by the Major League Baseball Network: former Blue Jays executive Alex Anthopoulos.

Anthopoulos, a Montreal native, came to prominence during his time as vice president of baseball operations and general manager of the Blue Jays from 2010-2015. He dealt for Josh Donaldson in 2014 and Troy Tulowitzki in 2015 as Toronto pushed for and won the AL East title.

Toronto offered Anthopoulos a five-year contract extension after the season, but he turned it down and eventually joined the Dodgers as vice president of baseball operations in January.

James Beresford went out on the field for early work Tuesday. When he returned to the clubhouse, there were about a dozen balloons in his stall, many with the message "Congratulations" written on them.

"Ha-ha-ha. My plan worked," Royals reliever Peter Moylan wrote.

Moylan, a fellow Australian, wanted to surprise him a day after Beresford was promoted to the majors for the first time. Beresford, 27, didn't think he had earned a call-up after batting .269 for the Red Wings this season, but the Twins rewarded Beresford for his 10 years with the organization.

"I'm hoping to find a way to get him into some of these games," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "And get a chance to experience playing the game at the major league level."

It was only two starts, but Tyler Duffey believes he's better off following his brief stint at Class AAA Rochester

"It definitely cleared my head a little bit," Duffey said. "I just went down there and pitched."

It's been a down year for Duffey, who impressed during the second half of last season but has been unable to fill the strike zone this season. He's looking to finish strong so he can enter the offseason with some momentum.

"I had a chance to go down there and made the little adjustments," Duffey said. "We will see how it goes on Friday."

The altered rotation has Andrew Albers in the bullpen. After Duffey, Hector Santiago will start Saturday with Jose Berrios getting another start Sunday.