The Twins had their fire sale, then they fired the manager. Rocco Baldelli is already being discussed as a replacement in one of the open roles across the country. Furthermore, Thad Levine, the former GM who left last season of his own volition, is being mentioned as as a candidate to take over the President of Baseball Operations role in Colorado. Clearly, the Twins have had the pieces over the years, which is a credit to the hiring practices. The problem is that they haven't been given the resources to buy the glue to hold it all together.
Even if this isn't the case on Twins fan sites, Derek Falvey has a reputation of a person with a good eye for talent. As the Twins start their search for a new captain of the ship, I think this is important, that Falvey doesn't really have a reason to feel unconfident in looking for the right person for the job, and despite what media and fans think, there probably is less imperative to find an Old Friend for the role.
Sure, there is probably some reason to consider James Rowson or Derek Shelton for the role, considering the existing relationship with Falvey. I haven't heard much momentum for Shelton after his turn with the Pirates, but a lot of outlets have their eye on Rowson, the former hitting coach for the Twins, and current hitting coach for the Yankees. I give Rowson all the credit for Trent Grisham.
I've said in the past that managers are as much about vibes as they are about anything else. I'm not sure Torii Hunter or Kurt Suzuki are the vibe the organization is looking for. Both most recently participated in losing Twins teams. Hunter has said controversial things about gay marriage and Hispanic players, while Suzuki's tenure with the Twins coincided with their most recent time in the baseball abyss, and was famously snuggly with the president when Suzuki's Nationals won the World Series.
I'm not saying that a person's politics should be disqualifying. The country is split, so I assume baseball is too. Hunter's past goes beyond politics, but the more pertinent point for Falvey and his managerial hunt is that everyone knows how they feel at all. That was one of Falvey's favorite things about Rocco Baldelli: The man was chronically coy, and all attention was to the product on the field.
Most importantly, Falvey doesn't have a connection with Suzuki or Hunter. There isn't necessarily the draw to them for him or Jeremy Zoll as there are Twins fans with memories. But let's also not get carried away with Rowson.
James Rowson left the Twins voluntarily to go to Miami and eventually would take the hitting coach role with the Yankees. For whatever good vibes Rowson had with the Bomba Squad, there is only one player left on the team from that team, and Byron Buxton wasn't really one of the big bombers at the time. Hell, most of the players on the team now were only drafted that year, if they were drafted at all. I'll have to check my notes, but I don't think Luke Keaschall was even born.
I don't need to see Hunter or Suzuki back in Minnesota, and I'm not sure the Twins are even looking at Derek Shelton. James Rowson is probably the most likely Old Friend to return to the role, but the hole point is this: Don't expect to the Twins' hunt to be as narrow as we've been led to believe.
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