"As noted by Nightengale, Friedman and Baldelli overlapped in the Rays organization many years ago. Baldelli spent almost his entire playing career with the Rays. He was drafted by that club in 2000 and retired with them in 2011, though he had a brief stint with the Red Sox in 2009. After retiring as a player, he transitioned into coaching with the Rays, having various titles over a number of years. Friedman worked with the Rays from 2004 to 2014 before joining the Dodgers."
"Baldelli jumped from the Rays to the Twins to become the manager in Minnesota, beginning with the 2019 season. The initial returns were very good. The Twins went 101-61 in 2019 and won the American League Central. Baldelli was given American League Manager of the Year honors. They repeated as division champs in 2020. Then came a bit of a swoon, with the Twins dipping beneath .500 in 2021 and 2022. They bounced back by winning the Central again in 2023."
"Things tailed off again more recently. In both 2024 and 2025, Minnesota was contending for a while but finished poorly. In 2024, they were holding onto a playoff spot for much of the year but mounting injuries knocked them down late in the schedule. They finished 82-80 and outside the playoff picture. In 2025, they hovered near contention for a few months but fell back in the summer, prompting the front office to engineer a big deadline sell-off."
Rocco Baldelli has been hired by the Dodgers as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Baldelli spent almost his entire playing career with the Rays, was drafted in 2000, and transitioned into coaching with multiple titles after retiring in 2011. Friedman and Baldelli previously worked together in the Rays organization. Baldelli left the Rays to manage the Twins beginning in 2019, leading a 101-61 season, a 2020 division repeat, and a 2023 division title, but Minnesota suffered sub-.500 finishes in 2021 and 2022 and faltered late in 2024 and 2025, prompting a sell-off and his firing.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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