Report: Twins Pick Up Option On Manager Rocco Baldelli’s Contract For 2026

The Twins may be sputtering through the month of June, but they still believe they have the right man in charge to lead the club. The organization has picked up the team option on manager Rocco Baldelli’s contact for the 2026 season, per a report in The Athletic.

Neither Baldelli, who is in his seventh season leading the Twins, nor a club official confirmed the report when asked about it.

“The entire time I’ve been with the Twins organization, I’ve never commented on anything contractually or anything related to it. I’m going to stay there,” Baldelli said. “I spend all my time and my energy right now thinking about our team and how to get our guys in a great place and how to win games. That’s the way I like to keep it. I don’t really have anything to add on that in any way.”

The Twins entered Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners losers of 10 of their previous 11 games. They’ve slipped under .500 and into fourth place in the American League Central Division during a disastrous month of June in which the team had a 6.81 collective earned-run average.

But still, on Monday, president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey threw his support behind the manager.

“Rocco is not running away from any of the work,” Falvey said. “My focus has been on how do I support him with that, because I do believe he has got the players’ best interest at heart and he’s trying to figure out how to solve a challenging equation that we’re all trying to navigate through. He’s not alone in that. We’re all side by side with him, as is the staff and as (are) our core players. We’re trying to figure it out together.”

In six and a half seasons at the helm of the Twins, Baldelli had a career .527 winning percentage entering Tuesday. He has led the Twins to three division titles.

But the past two have been filled with ups and downs, each featuring a slow start  followed by a long winning streak to pull the team back above .500.

The 2024 season ended with a six-week collapse that saw the Twins miss the postseason after having playoff odds that topped 95 percent at one point and led to the dismissal of four members of Baldelli’s coaching staff.

And this season, once again, Baldelli is tasked with leading the Twins through a challenging stretch.

“You’ve got to continue to prepare, and you’ve got to wear it sometimes when it isn’t going the way you want,” Baldelli said. “But there is always a game tomorrow to focus on and think about. Probably a few nights where I’m not sleeping quite the way I want, but I get to play with my kids. I can’t think about baseball when I’m home playing with my kids.”

Briefly

The Twins will send Joe Ryan to the mound Wednesday for the third game of the Seattle series. Ryan, who has a 3.06 ERA, gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings his last time out. He will be opposed by George Kirby.