Paul Molitor Fired by the Minnesota Twins

Paul Molitor has been fired as head coach of the Minnesota twins but is expected to remain with the organization

The Minnesota Twins fired Paul Molitor on Tuesday after the club announced it has chosen to go in another direction. It was only two years ago that chief baseball officer, Derek Falvey agreed to the position so long as Molitor remained as the manager – now it seems times have changed.

Molitor, a celebrated player before moving into management, won the 2017 American League Manager of the Year award, but after a poor showing this season, it was decided it was time for Falvey and GM Thad Levine to hire his own manager.

Levine and Falvey stated that they want to focus on the development of younger players and chose to release Paul Molitor of his management position but did offer him the opportunity to remain with the franchise in a position that has yet to be defined.

Falvey mentioned the decision was not about their record year, stating,

“This is about what we think is best as we continue to grow a young team in the direction toward being a championship contender.”

Management and club executives all expressed they have total confidence that Molitor will choose to remain with the club he has been part of for twenty years. During those years, he has held various roles including his final three years as a player.

After the announcement, Molitor released a statement that said,

“I fully respect that decision. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity they gave me to serve in the role as manager for these past four years. I’m going to consider their genuine offer to serve in a different capacity to positively impact the Twins from a different role.”

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Under Molitor’s direction, Minnesota appeared in the 2017 playoffs and were 78-84 this year and far from contention for the post-season as a result of some key player issues. During the news conference, neither Levine nor Falvey indicated any specific reason for Monitor’s firing, nor did they make mention of the type of manager they are looking to hire. They did, however, praise Molitor on his attitude and willingness to be open to new strategies.

Minnesota has long needed to consider new approaches that go beyond that of the dugout. After Molitor’s firing, the Twins also terminated seven coaches with their minor league team as well as two conditioning and strength coaches from the major league staff.

Falvey commenting during the 20-minute news conference that he had a conversation with Paul last year and looked at what the future could hold if Paul was not managing the team. Falvey added,

“It’s never the right time to make a difficult decision, and it’s never easy. You have to weigh all the factors that we learned about this team this year, where we are and what need to do moving forward. We felt like now was the time to have that conversation with Paul.”

Jim Poklad, the owner of the Twins also commented saying that he feels this was not a huge roadblock for them adding that,

“I mean, everybody wanted the situation to work out, and I did too, because Paul’s a personal friend and he’s done so much for our organization and is so important to our community. So I feel good about that decision.”

Now, the Twins are focused on the future, and that includes acquiring the players they need for a successful playoff run. They recently acquired three relievers; Zach Duke, Addison Reed and Fernando Rodney. They also signed starting pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn as well as Logan Morrison for the designated hitter position.

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Author Noah is our American writer who likes to give his own spin on everything Golf & the NHL he covers mainly the US side of the game as Doug covers the Canada. In his time off he can usually be taking to the greens or on the ice playing some hockey