Don’t call it a rebuild, Derek Shelton said Tuesday.
The Twins might have traded away 10 of their best, most veteran players at the deadline last July, then plummeted in the American League Central Division standings, but that doesn’t mean it’s a gut job, the new Twins manager said.
“I’m not using the term ‘rebuild,’ ” Shelton said. “People are always going to go to a certain term, but I think we’re going to develop young players, and I think we have good young players. So that’s probably not a word you’re going to hear me say.”
Shelton managed a rebuilding club for four-plus seasons in Pittsburgh, finishing with a 306-440 record, before winning the Twins’ opening after a monthlong search.
With the team stuck in place outside the wild card race after the all-star break, the Twins orchestrated a salary dump last July that included sending former building blocks Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Louie Varland — plus productive veteran rentals Ty France and Harrison Bader — to contenders for prospects.
With a solid rotation led by Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, the Twins seem dedicated to building around a young core of position players that includes infielders Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee and Luke Keaschall, and outfielders Matt Wallner and Austin Martin.
“I’m excited about this young core,” Shelton said, “and I’m excited about how they’re going to compete, and I think everybody always wants to put a term on something. But I don’t think (calling it a rebuild) is fair.”
Coaching changes
When the Twins fired Rocco Baldelli after the season ended, they held off on the rest of the coaching staff. Their fates will begin to become clear as Shelton starts to build his staff.
Among those waiting on their fates are assistant bench coach Hank Conger — who interviewed for the managerial job — and pitching coach Pete Maki.
“There will be changes with our (coaching) staff, there’s no other way to put it,” team president Derek Falvey said. “Exactly what that change is still remains to be seen.”
Still waiting …
Falvey said he didn’t have any indication of when two minority ownership partners would officially come on board, after which, presumably, he will have more clarity on the team’s financial position heading into free agency.
“I don’t have a timeline right now; some of that is owed to the process of finalizing a deal, so to speak, behind the scenes,” Falvey said. “But at the end of the day, once the Pohlads give me an indication of that, there will be some — subsequent to that — baseball process. That’s a little bit above my pay grade; when they tell me, I’ll know, and at this point we’re just not there.”
Health updates
Falvey said right-handed starters Lopez (forearm) and David Festa (thoracic outlet syndrome) are on track to be ready for spring training.
Lopez, who missed three months with a shoulder injury before injuring his forearm trying to field a grounder in September, is “in full offseason mode at this point.”
Festa, who ended the season on the 60-day injured list, was seen by a specialist in Dallas on the team’s final road trip and is “tracking the way we expected this offseason” and “should track well towards spring training.”
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