Twins hiring Grady Sizemore to new manager Derek Shelton’s coaching staff

LAS VEGAS – Grady Sizemore, who once tormented Twins pitchers when he starred for Cleveland, will work on boosting the Twins offense next year.

Sizemore, a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner as a player, is joining manager Derek Shelton’s coaching staff as an outfield and baserunning coach, a person familiar with the hire told the Minnesota Star Tribune. He will also serve as the first base coach.

Sizemore was the Chicago White Sox’s interim manager for the final 45 games of the 2024 season (13-32 record) and their offensive coordinator last season.

Shelton traveled to Las Vegas for the annual General Managers Meetings this week — after a separate get-to-know-you visit with Royce Lewis in Texas — which allows him to remain close to Twins front-office members as he works on filling his coaching staff.

Shelton already added LaTroy Hawkins as his bullpen coach, while pitching coach Pete Maki and infield coach Ramon Borrego are among the holdovers from Rocco Baldelli’s staff last season. Borrego, who was the team’s first base coach, will become the third base coach next year.

Sizemore had Shelton as his major league hitting coach in Cleveland for five seasons and in Tampa Bay for one season. Sizemore was a minor league coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 before joining the White Sox in 2024. The White Sox offered Sizemore an unspecified role in the organization at the end of September.

“The beauty of the past two years is I have had a lot of freedom to kind of make my own way and kind of put my hand in a little bit of everything,” Sizemore told MLB.com in September. “That hasn’t changed a whole lot this year. I tried to focus a lot more on the offensive side, but trying to help out any way I can — baserunning, offense or even outfield.”

“We’ve talked to a handful of different people at this point on the bench [coach] role, as we have with a few other roles,” Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations, said. “I’m liking the way we’re talking about the staff coming together. I’m liking the way it feels like where it’s headed in terms of the dynamics, the backgrounds, the playing experience and the skill sets.”

The Twins went from a team that barely attempted to steal bases to one of the most aggressive baserunning teams in the majors over the final six weeks of the season.

They stole 48 bases in 96 games before the All-Star break and swiped 53 bases over their final 38 games with largely the same position player group.

“Talking to a few of our current players about that ... it kind of freed them up, made them think a little differently about the way they could put pressure on other teams,” Falvey said. “I would anticipate we’re going to be in that same headspace next year.”

Many of the coaches who will not be back from Baldelli’s staff are landing similar roles with other teams. Jayce Tingler is expected to be the bench coach for the San Francisco Giants. Tommy Watkins, who spent the past 16 years as a coach in the Twins organization, was named the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves. Former Twins catching coach Hank Conger and bullpen coach Colby Suggs are interviewing with other teams.

Longtime Twins (and St. Paul Saints) pitcher Randy Dobnak agreed to a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Dobnak, 30, became a free agent after the Detroit Tigers declined his $6 million club option and paid him a $1 million buyout. The Twins traded Dobnak to Detroit, dumping his salary, as part of the Chris Paddack trade deadline deal.