James Rowson has moved on to the Marlins and Derek Shelton remains in the running to manage the Mets or Pirates. But Derek Falvey resisted the temptation of going home to lead the Red Sox.
It's evidence that the Twins organization is highly thought of around Major League Baseball, as their on-field and front office staff has been coveted by other clubs.
Boston selected Tampa Bay executive Chaim Bloom to head their baseball operations department, with a news conference scheduled for Monday. According to multiple sources, the Red Sox had Falvey high on their list of candidates. Falvey grew up in Lynn, Mass., and pitched for Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
Despite the opportunity to return to the area he grew up and run the Red Sox — winners of four World Series titles since 2003 — Falvey declined to even interview for the role. According to a source, Falvey who was hired by the Twins after the 2016 season as their chief baseball officer, feels he has the Twins positioned for a run of success after overhauling the coaching staff and building out the baseball operations department. He simply wasn't prepared to leave after bringing in so many new faces.
Boston eventually turned to Bloom, whom the Twins interviewed in 2016 before choosing to hire Falvey.
Since Falvey remains on board, he can direct the search for a new hitting coach to replace Rowson — and work on a list of candidates to replace Shelton if the bench coach leaves.
Rowson last week left for Miami to be the Marlins bench coach and offensive coordinator. It gives him a platform to build a case to be a manager in the future while implementing his offensive philosophies throughout the organization. He is also closer to his family in Florida.
The Twins now wait to see what will happen with Shelton. Last week, he had his second interview for the Mets managerial opening, and he remains in the running for the Pirates job as well.
Lewis is AFL MVP
Twins top prospect Royce Lewis was named the MVP of the Arizona Fall League.
The 20-year-old shortstop/center fielder played for league champion Salt River and won a vote of the league managers.
In 22 regular-season games, Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, hit .353 with nine doubles, 21 runs, three home runs and 20 RBI. He had a .975 OPS.
Salt River beat Surprise 5-1 in Saturday's championship game as Lewis had two hits and Miami prospect Jerar Encarnacion hit a grand slam.
