Two key components of the Tampa Bay Rays coaching staff will have manager gigs with other teams in 2019. Rays field coordinator Rocco Baldelli will take the reigns for the Minnesota Twins. Bench coach Charlie Montoyo will become the next head coach for the divisional rival Toronto Blue Jays.
“Charlie and Rocco are two quality individuals who have served the Rays organization for a long time,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “They build solid relationships with players, understand how to earn their trust and have impacted many players’ careers for the better. In the four years we spent together, they were both instrumental in helping me on a daily basis. Each one is very deserving of this opportunity, and I wish them well.”
After the Twins let manager Paul Molitor go following a disappointing 78-84 season, the team brass said they weren’t afraid to go with a rookie at the helm in order to find someone who could better relate to the club’s young core of talented prospects.
Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine also wanted someone with a knack for analytics.
“We talked a lot about finding a partner that would push us forward and embody the Twins’ tradition,” Falvey said. “I couldn’t envision a better partner than Rocco Baldelli.”
The team found what they were looking for with the hiring of Baldelli, 37, who will become the 14th manager in Twins history and the youngest Minnesota skipper since a 33-year-old Frank Quilici took the reigns in 1972. Baldelli, who will be the youngest manager in the league this season, was also a finalist for the managerial opening with the Texas Rangers. He beat out former Rays hitting coach and current Twins bench coach Derek Shelton and Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde for the job in Minnesota.
“Where I landed, I’m absolutely ecstatic,” Baldelli said.
This will be the first managerial job for Baldelli, who also served as Tampa Bay’s first base coach for three seasons from 2015-17 and spent the four prior four seasons as a Special Assistant to Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. During his various roles, the former outfielder had a reputation for using advanced statistics, especially when it came to defensive positioning.
“He’s going to get along really well with guys,” Twins starter Jake Odorizzi, who played with the Rays from 2011-2017, told MLB Radio. “I’m really looking forward to seeing his philosophies as a manager because I’ve seen him in just about every other role.”
The Woonsocket, Rhode Island native was selected by Tampa Bay sixth overall in the 2000 amateur draft out of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island. He played seven seasons in the major leagues from 2003-10 for Tampa Bay and the Boston Red Sox, hitting .278 with 99 doubles, 18 triples, 60 home runs and 262 RBI in 519 games. He was the 2008 winner of the Tony Conigliaro Award, given by the Boston Chapter of the BBWAA to the major league player who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage, after he was diagnosed with mitochondrial channelopathy, a rare muscular disorder.
Montoyo, 53, has a much longer coaching resume but this will also be his first big league managing job after agreeing to a three-year contract with a team option for 2022.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to join the Toronto Blue Jays organization and I would like to thank Mark and Ross for this amazing opportunity,” Montoyo said. “Managing a team that represents an entire nation is incredibly special. My family and I look forward to working towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship for this city. I also want to recognize the entire Tampa Bay Rays organization for giving me the chance to start my coaching career.”
Before serving as Rays’ third base and bench coach since 2015, Montoyo managed the Durham Bulls for eight years. Hyde, recent Reds hire David Bell and Astros bench coach Joe Espada were also finalists for the Toronto position.
