All eyes on Rocco Baldelli’s job status as Twins reach end of another frustrating season

PHILADELPHIA – During the final weekend of a disappointing Twins season, there is speculation about manager Rocco Baldelli’s job security.

That comes with the territory when a team drastically underachieves expectations. The Twins, who entered the season hoping to contend for a division title, are one of five major league teams that exceeded 90 losses this season, along with the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

“I haven’t heard anything, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have much to say about it right now because I have a job to do right now,” Baldelli said Friday. “Me talking about that would just be a distraction, and I don’t like distractions.”

Among the 90-loss teams, the Rockies, Nationals and Pirates fired their managers earlier this year, and the White Sox, the one exception, changed managers after last year, when they lost an MLB-record 121 games.

The Nationals fired General Manager Mike Rizzo, too, while the Denver Post reported a couple of weeks ago that it “appears likely” GM Bill Schmidt will be fired or reassigned at the end of the season.

The Baltimore Orioles, another underachieving team that won’t quite lose 90 games, also fired manager Brandon Hyde in May.

The Twins are believed to have picked up a club option in Baldelli’s contract for the 2026 season, though Baldelli and team President Derek Falvey have declined to comment about it multiple times. One Twins official said in spring training that it would be inaccurate to say Baldelli was in a lame duck contractual situation.

“Kind of introspectively looking at this thing, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of just focusing on what I have to do out there in the dugout, the clubhouse and being here every day, and not as much on the personal side of things,” Baldelli said. “There is a time and a place for that, and right now the time is to watch our guys play, develop and hopefully win the [final] games, and focus on that. I’ve been able to do that. On my end, that hasn’t been too hard to do.”

After the Twins missed the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five years, it’s possible the franchise might look for an internal shakeup. The Twins already tore down a large chunk of their roster at the trade deadline. Many players inside the clubhouse, though, still have a favorable opinion of Baldelli.

“These [players] are the guys that set the tone for what we need to do,” Baldelli said. “I can set the tone all I want. The staff can be consistent and thorough and grab guys and get them out there every day and put in a full day’s work. But the guys in the clubhouse, that’s where it’s at. And they’ve kept it going even when the losses have been there.”

The Twins haven’t played well since the All-Star break, dropping series to the Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and Nationals to cement their status as trade deadline sellers. Then came a massive fire sale, dealing 10 players off the roster and shaving $26 million from the payroll, and the Twins, predictably, haven’t played well over the final two months.

Entering Saturday with a 22-42 record (.344 winning percentage) since the All-Star break, the Twins have tried to change parts of the team’s identity, particularly with more aggressive baserunning.

Baldelli, who is completing his seventh season as the club’s manager, entered Saturday with the third-most managerial victories in Twins history with 526, behind only Tom Kelly (1,140) and Ron Gardenhire (1,068).