There is a world in which the hiring of Derek Shelton makes a lot of sense. That world is not necessarily the one occupied by Twins fans, who are disenfranchised by the ownership's decision to stop spending money, and the drastic changes to the roster that the front office took at the deadline. The hiring of Shelton also marks a significant landmark.
He is the first Twins manager to be hired that has had Major League managerial experience in 50 years. The Pohlads have never hired an experienced manager. Most Twins fans don't have any experience with looking at a manager with a track record, and frankly, any that are on the market likely have a few dark patches. As Matthew Leach points out, though, baseball history is littered with managers who had a significantly better time of it with their second go-round.
Not to mention, this is Shelton's second spin with the Twins. He got the job in Pittsburgh because of his performance as the Twins' bench coach early in the Rocco era. He probably interviewed well with the Twins because what he did here back in 2019 seemed to work. Maybe also because Dereks just get along.
In short, there are a couple of factors to the opinion on Shelton that I just don't ascribe to. The first that his track record is indicative of future success. We Twins fans just aren't used to having such a public resume. Second is that this is indicative of some sort of cowardice from the front office, or of poor decision making.
One thing that Derek Falvey is not, is a coward. For a long time, many people wanted the Twins to be more like the Tampa Bay Rays, or have a plan like the Astros did when they tore everything down in order to build things back up to what they've been for the past decade or so. Well, here it is.
After some initial success, the front office was granted some extra spending money, which they used to good effect and a playoff victory. When that money went away, the Twins needed to change horses mid race. Falvey was aggressive with trades early in his tenure, and made some tactical signings in the offseason. That slowed down as they tried to coast after the payroll reduction following the 2023 season, and struggled because of they couldn't afford any depth.
So here it is. The Rays/Astros method. What both of those organizations understood is something that Terry Ryan and Bill Smith never seemed to be on board with. Not every prospect hits, so when you are building things back, having more chances is a vital strategy to success (and a willingness to trade them when you are in your competitive success, since pennants fly forever, and prospects might not arrive ever). The important thing to that if you have a limited payroll, you are going to have to take chances.
How much of Terry Ryan's ethos was driven by a risk averse ownership group? How much of it was a product of Terry Ryan's own personality? How much of bringing Derek Shelton back is because he is familiar face, and how much is it because Falvey is taking a chance?
Is the ownership group no longer willing to take chances, or can Falvey still try to run a baseball team?
