The Twins announced four new coaches to manager Rocco Baldelli‘s staff yesterday, as they hired Wes Johnson (pitching coach), Jeremy Hefner (bullpen coach), Tony Diaz (third-base coach) and Tommy Watkins (first-base coach). The Twins had retained hitting coach James Rowson, assistant hitting coach Rudy Hernandez and bench coach Derek Shelton.
The best known of the group of hires has to be Tommy Watkins who had played in 9 games for the Twins back in 2007. Watkins was a Twins 38th round pick as a shortstop in 1998 about a dozen selections before the White Sox picked Mark Buehrle. Watkins last season as an active player was 2009 and he is currently managing the Salt River Rafters in the AFL. Watkins, now 38, has been in Minnesota’s farm system serving as manager of Double-A Chattanooga in ’17 and Class A Advanced Fort Myers in ’18.
Jeremy Hefner, 32, was the Twins’ advanced scout the past two years but will be the bullpen coach/assistant pitching coach next year. He was with the club for all 162 games and used video and analytics to help pitchers. Hefner was drafted by the New York Mets twice but didn’t sign until he was selected by the San Diego Padres in round 5 of the 2007 June amateur draft. He pitched for the Mets from 2012-13. Hefner had a career record of 8-15 with a 4.65 ERA. He earned his first major league victory in a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on a day on which he also collected his first major league hit, a home run off Joe Blanton.
The new third base coach will be Tony Diaz who comes to Minnesota from the Colorado Rockies system where he coached first base the last few seasons. Diaz, 41, was selected by the California Angels in the 46th round of the 1995 June amateur draft and played shortstop for one year before suffering a career ending shoulder injury in 1996. Diaz, although only 41, has 18 years of coaching experience and gives the Twins a second bilingual coach, joining Hernandez, and is known for his work with infielders.
The Twins new pitching coach is Wes Johnson. Johnson, 47, is said to be one of the top collegiate pitching coaches in the nation. He’s known as a forward-thinking, analytical coach who uses technology such as Trackman to help his pitchers find a consistent release point and unlock greater velocity. Most recently, he was the pitching coach for the University of Arkansas during its run to winning the College World Series championship against Oregon State this season. Prior to his time with the Razorbacks, Johnson was the pitching coach at Mississippi State and Dallas Baptist University. Now, however, for the first time in nearly 40 years, Wes Johnson will become the first coach to move directly from a college dugout to an MLB dugout.
The Twins are supposedly still searching for one more addition to the coaching staff. These are certainly some interesting addition to Rocco Baldelli’s coaching staff. I can’t help but wonder how much if any input Baldelli had in naming his staff. It interesting that Derek Falvey wanted his own manager but apparently didn’t allow Baldelli the same privilege of selecting his own coaches. Being the contrarian that I often can be, I can’t help but ask if Rocco Baldelli will really be the team’s manager or just a puppet of Derek Falvey? Is Derek going to play manager here?
Falvey has gone way out on a limb with his changes over the last couple of years and he is either going to look like a genius or one of the biggest goats of all time in Minnesota Twins history. I want to see the team win and I hope that Derek Falvey can convince me he is the guy that can make this team a winner over the long-term. Afterall, I have 59 years invested in this team and they have won the World Series twice and the last time was way back in 1991.
Forbes said that the Minnesota Twins were worth $1.15 billion in 2018, last season the Twins paid out about $131 million in player payroll. If I was Jim Pohlad, I would be getting pretty nervous because baseball is a business, a unique business but a business never-the-less. He has to be wondering after 2018 if he made a mistake putting Derek Falvey in charge. What business do you know that puts a 33 year-old in charge of the company when he has had zero experience besides being an assistant GM in his background? Sure Mr. Falvey is book smart but is he smart enough to run a baseball operation?
I am an old guy and have always believed that experience is valuable. No team brings in rookies in key situations during a tight ball game. How is it different with coaches, managers and front office personnel? Someone once told me that I don’t accept change very well, they might be right.