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Home , Don Baylor, Gene Glynn, Jim Pohlad, Joe Vavra, Scott Ullger, Terry Ryan (baseball)

Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Thursday, November 13, 2014

➢ Glynn picked to third base for Molitor’s Twins’ staff. Star Tribune (Miller) pg. 1 ➢ TFD: Minneapolis set to rename streets, including Bud Grant Drive? Star Tribune (Rand) pg. 2 ➢ Could Twins great be immortalized on a U.S. stamp? Star Tribune (Walsh) pg. 2 ➢ Twinsights: Aaron Hicks released from Venezuelan winter team. Pioneer Press (Berardino) pg. 3 ➢ Twins GM Ryan ‘doing well’ after cancer battle. MLB.com (Bloom) pg. 4 ➢ TwinsFest returns to , Jan. 23-25. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 6 ➢ Glynn, Hernanadez named to Twins’ coaching staff. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 7 ➢ Sano Prepares To Return After Lost Year. BaseballAmerica.com (Miller) pg. 8 ➢ Fien, Milone qualified for ‘Super 2’ and they’ll each get a raise. 1500espn.com (Wetmore) pg. 9 ➢ Twins promote Rudy Hernandez to assistant hitting coach. 1500espn.com (Wetmore) pg. 10 ➢ Gene Glynn promoted to Twins third base coach, infield instructor. 1500espn.com (Wetmore) pg. 10 ➢ Molitor, Twins add two more coaches to staff. FOXSportsNorth.com (Mason) pg. 11

Glynn picked to coach third base for Molitor’s Twins’ staff

Phil Miller / Star Tribune – 11/13/14

Gene Glynn knew he might never coach in the major leagues again when he walked away in 2007 in order to spend more time with his two sons. But “I always hoped it would happen again,” the Waseca, Minn., native said Wednesday. “So today is a very good day.”

Glynn, who managed the Twins’ top farm team in Rochester, N.Y., the past three seasons, was hired to be new manager ’s third-base coach and infield instructor, the team announced. In addition, Rudy Hernandez, an instructor for the past 14 seasons in the Twins organization, will be promoted to the majors to be assistant hitting coach.

For Glynn, 58, the promotion comes just 10 days after he was passed over for the team’s managerial job in favor of Molitor. Glynn was one of three finalists to interview with owner Jim Pohlad and , a factor that Ryan said was discussed internally “to make sure there’s no situation where that would be a problem.”

But Glynn assured the Twins that he’s not disappointed to be a runner-up. “Not at all. I’ve always admired Mollie, and I’m really happy for him,” Glynn said. “I was honored they thought that much of me, but that’s over with. I’m not thinking about managing now; my focus now is on being a good third-base coach for Paul and the Twins.”

It’s a position he has already held for the Rockies, Cubs and Giants, not to mention a season as first-base coach for the Expos. He’s coached under managers , Don Baylor and now Molitor, all of whom were accomplished players before becoming managers. But after the 2006 season, Glynn decided to return to Minnesota and accept a scouting job with Tampa Bay that allowed him to watch his sons Christopher and Gino play high school sports. Gene Glynn himself was the first Mr. Basketball in Minnesota history, as a point guard at Waseca High in 1975. Glynn returned to the dugout in 2012, when the Twins hired him as their Class AAA manager, and he said he loved his time in Rochester. And that experience will pay off, he believes, because he has managed roughly half the team’s 40-man roster.

Hernandez, 46, knows most of the Twins’ prospects, too, because he has coached or managed at four different levels for the Twins. A native of Maracay, Venezuela, he speaks Spanish, an important trait considering the Twins’ growing number of players from Latin America. “He’s well respected, and most important, he’s a good man,” Ryan said.

The Twins have designated him an assistant to hitting coach , the first time they have created that specific position. “Hitting coach is an exhausting position, with all the video and time in the cages and time on the field,” Ryan said. “We thought we could help [Brunansky] by giving this assignment to Rudy, who’s a very accomplished hitting coach himself.”

Ryan said he has made progress on hiring a pitching coach, bench coach and the rest of Molitor’s staff, but “we’re not close to naming anyone as of now.”

Notes

• Ryan and his staff have spoken to the agents for “a number” of free agents during the general managers’ meetings in Phoenix this week, but “it’s always a mystery this time of year” as to how strong the market will be, Ryan said. “There are players we’d certainly like to acquire, but I don’t think anybody knows yet” about whether the Twins might be able to lure one of them.

“We’ve met with agents and we’ve talked with other general managers” about possible trades, Ryan said, “but it’s very early yet. ... I haven’t been sitting on my hands out here.”

• The Twins’ annual winter festival, TwinsFest, will be held Jan. 23-25, 2015, and will remain at Target Field for a second year. Tickets — $20 for adults and $10 for children 14 and under — will go on sale Dec. 11.

TFD: Minneapolis set to rename streets, including Bud Grant Drive?

Michael Rand / Star Tribune – 11/12/14

Interesting nugget from our former Minnesota Daily colleague Sam Black, who works for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal:

Two Minneapolis City Council members want to rename a block near the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in honor of former football coach Bud Grant.

The street, on the 600 block of Ninth Avenue South, is now called Carew Drive after the former player. The city already approved plans to move that commemorative street closer to Target Field, to the 600 block of Second Avenue North.

The city also announced plans to designate Seventh Street North from 10th Street to Second Avenue as Place, relocating that name from a stretch of Chicago Avenue that was in front of the former Metrodome.

The Bud Grant Drive idea was approved Monday by the Minneapolis Planning Commission and awaits further approval next month. The city is also considering other sports-related street name changes to reflect the fact that the Twins no longer play on the east end of downtown. You can read Black’s full report.

Could Twins great Harmon Killebrew be immortalized on a U.S. stamp?

Paul Walsh / Star Tribune – 11/13/14

The image of beloved Twins slugging legend Harmon Killebrew could someday be on letters and packages across America, according to U.S. Postal Service officials.

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Killebrew is “being considered to be immortalized on a stamp” by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, said Postal Service spokesman Mark R. Saunders, who cautioned that there is a long process ahead before any subject rises from “under consideration” to reality.

Saunders declined to say how many different design subjects are weighed by the committee at any one time, nor is it known who else might be up for the honor. Saunders added that no announcements about new stamps are scheduled.

Nita Killebrew is in the midst of spearheading a letter-writing campaign in support of commemorating her late husband, who died in 2011 at 74.

Harmon Killebrew always made sure “everyone he came in contact with knew they were significant,” she said. “What can be more worthy?”

Saunders said that efforts such as Nita Killebrew’s are welcome.

“There’s power in the pen, so write [to the committee] early and often when submitting stamp ideas,” he said.

The committee members receive thousands upon thousands of suggestions every year from the public, then “base their recommendations on national interest, historical perspective and other criteria,” Postal Service government relations representative Talaya Simpson explained in a letter to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a Killebrew stamp supporter.

Killebrew’s 22-season major league career started in 1954, first with the Washington Senators and then continuing with the franchise after it moved to the Twin Cities in 1961.

The Hall of Famer remained a Twin through the 1974 season and retired in 1975 after one year with the Kansas City Royals. His career totals include 573 home runs (11th all-time) and 1,584 runs batted in.

The push for a Killebrew stamp is inspired not only by his success on the field but his character away from the game.

“Meeting him, one would never know he was in the baseball Hall of Fame,” read a letter sent last month to the Postal Service by Richard Crane of Mandeville, La. “He was absolutely down to earth and unaffected by his fame. Even though he was at our home because of his wife’s friendship with my wife, he always treated me as a friend of his.”

The list of major-league ball players depicted on U.S. stamps is quite short. Among them: , , Jackie Robinson and Minnesota native . Joining the roster in 2012 were Joe DiMaggio, , and .

Along with Maris, other Minnesotans so honored include former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, actress Judy Garland, football hero Bronko Nagurski, authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis, aviator Charles Lindbergh, health-care pioneers Drs. Charles and William Mayo (same stamp), and civil-rights activist Roy Wilkins.

Twinsights: Aaron Hicks released from Venezuelan winter team

Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press – 11/13/14

Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks postponed his wedding in order to play winter ball.

Someone apparently forgot to inform Bravos de Margarita management of that part of the narrative.

As often happens in the hyper-competitive winter leagues, Hicks was released recently from the Venezuelan Winter League team amid a 2-for-21 slump. His last game was on Nov. 2, and the Twins were powerless to stop the transaction.

Hicks, 25, had hoped to use the extra playing time to jump-start his flagging career. He posted a .381 on-base percentage in 16 games (50 at-bats) for Margarita, but his batting average (.220) and slugging percentage (.280) were disappointing.

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Hicks drew 13 walks and drove in four runs, including a home for his only extra-base . However, the Twins’ Opening Day center fielder the past two seasons also struck out 11 times and was caught stealing in two of three attempts.

Needless to say, that wasn’t the sort of output Hicks or the Twins were looking for when he heeded their wishes and signed on for his first winter-ball experience since 2012. That year he hit .204 in 54 at-bats (also 16 games) for Bravos de Margarita but still managed to make the jump from Double-A to the majors the following spring after Denard Span and Ben Revere were traded that winter.

–Double-A left-hander has thrown three shutout innings over two outings in the Arizona Fall League since returning from a bone bruise of his lower left forearm.

Rogers, who missed nearly a full calendar month after being struck by an Addison Russell liner just above his left wrist, last worked on Tuesday. That puts him in line to pitch multiple innings in Saturday’s AFL championship game for the Salt River Rafters.

Rogers, who turns 24 in December, has gone 22-12 with a 2.94 earned run average since being promoted to Fort Myers in early 2013.

Twins GM Ryan ‘doing well’ after cancer battle

Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com – 11/12/14

PHOENIX -- Terry Ryan is back in full throttle, back at the annual General Managers Meetings where the long-time Twins' GM feels most at home -- doing his job.

After the sudden diagnosis of throat cancer earlier this year, Ryan said his weight is still too low and he can't taste food the way he used to. Anything acidic, like tomatoes, or spicy concoctions, do a number on his still tender throat.

But…

"I'm doing well, I'm OK, thanks for asking," Ryan said this week during a break in the meetings. "I'm done with radiation. All I'm responsible for now is my appointments every three months for a number of years. For the most part, things are good. The only thing I really haven't done is gain the weight back, which really isn't all that bad."

Ryan is among the ranks of baseball people who are suffering from some form of cancer. Phillies president David Montgomery is one of them, on a prolonged leave of absence from the ballclub because of a similar battle with throat cancer. executive vice president , D-backs president Derrick Hall and Red Sox president Larry Lucchino all are prostate cancer survivors. Lucchino, a two-time cancer survivor, has also staved off non-Hodgkins lymphoma. This list certainly isn't all- inclusive.

Ryan found out last February that he had a cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, which, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal squamous cells that compose most of the skin's upper layers.

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During a pre-Spring Training physical exam, Ryan asked team physician Dr. Vijay Eyunni to examine a hard lump on his neck about an inch in diameter that had come to the surface a few weeks prior. Further tests revealed that the carcinoma had invaded his neck and throat.

"A lot of it was down in my tonsil area," Ryan recalled. "That's why I had so much trouble swallowing and eating."

And so the nasty carousel of surgery, treatment and recovery began. Ryan, who just turned 61 years old on Oct. 26, had surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. His survival is a testimony to checking abnormities early and a dogged resilience.

"They went in there extensively," Ryan said. "I was only supposed to be [in surgery] for three hours, but I was in there for six. The problem then was swallowing. I couldn't swallow. I had to have a feeding tube and that stuff. I'm fine now. I can eat just about anything. It doesn't taste like anything, but I can eat it."

Hall and Torre have often preached that men should check their PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) often. Any spike in that number, no matter the starting point, is an indication that something is going on.

Colon cancer can be caught early by undergoing a simple colonoscopy. As a two-time colon cancer survivor, I just had mine as dictated for the first time in three years. It was crystal clean and now I don't have to have another one for five years. I'm a Mayo Clinic patient, too, but here in Phoenix, five years, five months cancer free.

Ryan, too, is on his way.

"Every time I go in there, and I've been back for checkups twice now, you hope that you come out without any negative comments," he said. "And so far it's been pretty good. I'm back to exercising a little bit and I'm back to normal activity except for my appetite and stuff like that. I can't say enough for the Mayo. They're darned efficient. Unbelievable."

Ryan recovered just in time to begin the task of rebuilding a team that finished 70-92 this past season and has averaged 96 losses during the course of the last four. As his cancer travails began to curtail, Ryan was faced with this dilemma: determining the future of close friend and manager , who was ultimately dismissed after 13 seasons, 1,068 wins, a .507 winning percentage and six playoff appearances from 2002-10.

Along with Gardenhire went almost his entire coaching staff, save for hitting coach Tom Brunansky, who played the outfield for seven seasons in Minnesota, including 1987 when the Twins beat the Cardinals in seven games to win their first .

In the wake of hiring Paul Molitor to replace Gardenhire, Ryan has to fill these jobs on that staff: a pitching coach, bench coach and first-base coach. He hired a third-base coach and assistant hitting coach on Wednesday. The timeline is not specific to get the rest of it done, but Ryan would like to have those key pieces of personnel in place by the start of the Winter Meetings on Dec. 8 in San Diego. 5

"That would be safe to assume," Ryan said. "There are a lot of names, but I think we'll have it done well before then."

By all rights, Ryan should be living the simple life right now. A former pitcher in the Twins organization, Ryan replaced Andy MacPhail as Twins GM when MacPhail left for the Cubs in 1994. He remained on the job until the end of the '07 season when Ryan stepped down in lieu of Bill Smith. For the next four years, Ryan remained with the club as a consultant, but he was pressed back into the big role when Smith was relieved after a 99-loss season in '11.

Rebuilding the club ought to be a stroll around the warning track compared to the health problems Ryan has had to deal with for the past nine months. Life has a way of putting everything into perspective.

"You just go through it," Ryan said.

TwinsFest returns to Target Field, Jan. 23-25

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 11/12/14

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins are set to host TwinsFest at Target Field for a second straight year, as the event will be held inside the ballpark from Jan. 23-25, the club announced Wednesday.

The Twins have been hosting TwinsFest since 1989, but the event moved from the Metrodome to Target Field last year after the Metrodome was demolished. Target Field provides for a more intimate setting, and the Twins also have incorporated new activities and experiences over the past two years.

"We're excited to again host TwinsFest at Target Field, the capitol of Twins Territory," said Twins president Dave St. Peter. "As always, TwinsFest will serve as the unofficial start to a new baseball season while also helping raise significant proceeds for the Twins Community Fund and its many worthwhile programs across Twins Territory."

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. CT. Ticket sales will be capped for each day, and sellouts are expected. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for kids 14 and younger, with the proceeds going to the Twins Community Fund, which was created in 1991. Over the past 25 years, TwinsFest has raised more than $4.2 million for programs and organizations supported by the Twins Community Fund.

TwinsFest remains one of the largest team-run fan festivals in professional sports, as more than 60 current, former and future Twins players are expected to appear throughout the course of the weekend.

As in the past, the event will feature player autographs, photo sessions, sports memorabilia and a collector's show, but will also offer much more at Target Field. There will be increased player involvement, boardwalk-style amusements, special panel discussions, self-guided clubhouse tours and a walking tour of the ballpark.

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Other experiences include interacting with players at the Twins Amusements area, hitting in the batting cages, Fan Feud and reading with Twins mascot T.C. Bear. One new addition will be the ability for fans to compete against their favorite Twins baserunners and try to steal second base with a sliding mat at second base. Another new addition is a speed-pitch cage where fans can test their throwing velocity.

Other activities that were new last year and are set to return include the "White Glove" tour of the Twins' archive room, and the Twins yard sale. The tour allows fans to learn the club's process for archiving and restoring items, with a chance to see rare items such as Kirby Puckett's 1991 Gold Glove Award. The yard sale gives fans the opportunity to purchase team-issued gear, autographed memorabilia, Twins-branded artwork and promotional items from the organization's first 54 years in Minnesota.

Glynn, Hernandez named to Twins’ coaching staff

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 11/12/14

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins added two coaches to new manager Paul Molitor's staff on Wednesday, as Gene Glynn was promoted to serve as third-base coach and infield instructor and Rudy Hernandez was named assistant hitting coach.

Both coaches are signed through the 2015 season and are in-house hires, as Glynn served as manager at Triple-A Rochester for the last three years, while Hernandez just finished his 14th season in the Twins organization. They join Tom Brunansky, who was retained as hitting coach last Thursday, on the current coaching staff. Minnesota still needs to hire four more coaches, including a pitching coach and a bench coach.

Glynn, 58, is highly regarded by the organization for his work at Rochester, where he went 228-208 (.523) with an playoff appearance in 2013. The Red Wings had the worst record in Triple-A for two straight years before Glynn took over as manager.

Glynn also has plenty of Major League coaching experience, spending 13 years as a coach with the Rockies, Expos, Cubs and Giants, including 10 years as a third-base coach. He also served as a scout for the Rays for five years before becoming Rochester's manager.

Glynn, like Molitor, is a Minnesota native, as he grew up in Waseca and attended Minnesota State University, Mankato. After being signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Expos in '79, he played seven seasons in the Minors as a utility infielder and outfielder. Glynn's last season as a player was '85, and he went right into managing the Jamestown Expos of the New York-Penn League in '86.

Glynn is known for his ability to relate with players, and he is very familiar with the club's current roster because of his work as Rochester's manager. He also served as an extra coach for the Twins in September each of the last three years.

Glynn replaces Joe Vavra as third-base coach. Vavra had to move off that role in July because of a torn labrum in his hip. Molitor served as third-base coach the rest of the season, with Vavra helping coach from the bench. Minnesota still hasn't announced 7 whether any other coaches from last year's staff, such as Vavra, will return. Rick Anderson has publicly stated he will not be back as pitching coach.

The move up to the Major League coaching staff also creates a vacancy for a manager at Triple-A Rochester. The Twins are expected to shuffle their Minor League managers, as Doug Mientkiewicz could be promoted from Class A Advanced Fort Myers to take over that role. Both Glynn and Mientkiewicz were finalists for Minnesota's manager position. Mientkiewicz is also a candidate to manage at Double-A Chattanooga.

Hernandez, meanwhile, should be able to communicate effectively with the club's young Spanish-speaking players such as Oswaldo Arcia, Eduardo Escobar, Danny Santana and top prospect Miguel Sano. Hernandez, a Venezuela native, is currently serving as the bench coach for the Aragua Tigres in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Hernandez, 46, just finished his second year in his third stint as a coach with the Gulf Coast League Twins. He has coached in the organization at various levels, including Double-A, Class A and Rookie. Hernandez also served as manager for three seasons in the Minors with Rookie Elizabethton (2001) and the GCL Twins (2002-03), compiling a record of 139-102 (.577). He played five seasons in the Minor Leagues as an infielder/outfielder in the Mets' farm system from 1987-91.

Sano Prepares To Return After Lost Year

Phil Miller / BaseballAmerica.com – 11/13/14

MINNEAPOLIS—It was just a game of catch on a practice diamond in Florida, nothing resembling actual baseball, but Miguel Sano couldn’t help attracting an audience. Terry Ryan stood and watched.

“He gets your attention. He looks like a ballplayer out there,” the Twins’ general manager said. “I watched him swing the bat and I watched him throw for a while, and he looks pretty healthy to me. He’s the same big, strong guy we remember.”

Sano will remember 2014 for the disappointment of an elbow injury in February that required Tommy John surgery, perhaps costing him a chance to climb to the major leagues already. He’ll open camp in 2015 with lowered expectations; the Twins want Sano, who blasted 35 home runs at high Class A and Double-A in 2013, to ease back into the game, probably at Double-A Chattanooga.

“He’ll have to re-establish himself,” Ryan said. He’s not going to be ready to make (the major league team) out of spring training. It’s been a long time since he’s faced a pitcher.”

The Twins even asked the 21-year-old Dominican to forgo winter ball and focus on spring camp. Sano’s rehab program wouldn’t have him ready for game action until mid-December, Twins minor league director Brad Steil said, “and we just decided that it wasn’t worth it for just a few at-bats.”

Sano will remain a third baseman, too, Ryan emphasized after triggering a brief social-media uproar with the suggestion that the 6- foot-4, 250-pounder might not be an infielder by the time he arrives in Minnesota. During a Q&A with season-ticket holders, Ryan answered a hypothetical question by saying Sano “could go to the outfield if he had to. … A lot of young players come up and change positions if they’re blocked by (an) established veteran.”

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Ryan spent the next few days insisting that the team has no such plans.

“He could do it, I believe, but we’re not moving him,” Ryan said. “He’s a third baseman. Besides, his ticket up here is going to be that bat he possesses. That’s what has us so excited. He had a setback, OK, but that hasn’t changed how excited we are to get him on the field again.”

TWIN KILLINGS

• Center fielder fractured the middle finger on his left hand while diving for a ball during an Arizona Fall League game, his fourth major injury of the year.

• The Twins reached an agreement to sell lefthander Kris Johnson to the Hiroshima Carp in Japan.

Fien, Milone qualified for ‘Super 2’ and they’ll each get a raise

Derek Wetmore / 1500espn.com – 11/12/14

Major League baseball has finalized its list of 'Super 2' players, and a couple Twins players made the cut.

Reliever Casey Fien and starting pitcher Tommy Milone are among the 26 baseball players eligible for salary arbitration a year early, known across baseball as 'Super 2's.

Here's what it means in short:

--Players with three years of "service time" in the Majors are eligible for raises each year through a system of arbitration.

--Players with more than six years are eligible for free agency. Most players get three raises in arbitration before they hit free agency.

--These 'Super 2' players have the opportunity to get four years of arbitration raises, because they're technically two-year service time players but they're treated like 3-year players for arbitration purposes.

--

How do they decide? Baseball lines up every player with more than two years of service time but fewer than three. Among that group, the top 22 percent (i.e. those with the most experience in the Majors) are considered 'Super 2's and thus are eligible for a raise a year early.

--

The service time cut-off depends on the pool of players, but this year it happened to be two years and 133 days of Major League service time.

Shortstop Eduardo Escobar narrowly missed the cut-off. He was short by five days and thus won't be eligible for an arbitration raise until next season. Brian Dozier fell about a month short. That means the Twins can retain each player at an inexpensive rate for 2015.

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Twins promote Rudy Hernandez to assistant hitting coach

Derek Wetmore / 1500espn.com – 11/12/14

The Twins have promoted Rudy Hernandez to assistant hitting coach, the third known member of Paul Molitor's coaching staff.

Gene Glynn, the former manager, was added as the third base coach and infield instructor. Tom Brunansky already had been retained as the hitting coach.

All three men are signed through the 2015 season. Molitor has a three-year contract.

Hernandez has spent 14 seasons in the Twins organization, most recently working with the Gulf Coast League Twins. He's currently the bench coach for the Aragua Tigres, the Venezuelan Winter League team for which Eduardo Escobar and Yohan Pino are playing.

The Twins have not used an assistant hitting coach in the past, but more teams have added them lately.

Hernandez, 46, has worked with the GCL Twins in multiple stints. He spent 2012 as a coach for the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats and 2010 as a coach for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

He also worked for the Twins former Class-A affiliate, the Beloit Snappers, from 2005-08. He has managed and coached at multiple levels in the minor leagues and in Venezuela. He played five seasons in the Mets organization from 1987-91 and then bounced around Mexico and Venezuela as a player before taking a job with the Twins in 1996 as the coordinator of instruction at the Twins Venezuelan Academy.

Gene Glynn promoted to Twins third base coach, infield instructor

Derek Wetmore / 1500espn.com – 11/12/14

Former Rochester Red Wings manager Gene Glynn will be the new Twins third base coach and infield instructor, the team announced Wednesday.

Glynn is the second hire to new manager Paul Molitor's coaching staff. The team decided to keep hitting coach Tom Brunansky for the 2015 season.

General manager Terry Ryan said Glynn interviewed very well for the manager position before the team decided to promote Molitor for the job.

If they're going to follow a conventional build of an MLB coaching staff, the Twins still need a pitching coach, first base coach, bullpen coach and a bench coach. Teams are allowed seven Major League coaches.

Former pitching coach Rick Anderson has said he won't be back and Ryan said a week ago that no decision has been made on the rest of the coaching staff leftover from Ron Gardenhire's final year as manager. Molitor was promoted from coach to manager.

Joe Vavra was the third base coach to start 2014, but hip pain forced him from in-game duty and Scott Ullger moved from first base to third base, with Molitor taking the post as first base coach to close the season.

Glynn's promotion leaves a vacancy at Triple-A manager.

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Molitor, Twins add two more coaches to staff

Tyler Mason / FOXSportsNorth.com – 11/12/14

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins manager Paul Molitor has added two more coaches to his staff for 2015.

The team announced Wednesday that Triple-A Rochester manager Gene Glynn has been promoted to the Twins third base coach. Additionally, Rudy Hernandez was hired as an assistant hitting coach.

Glynn previously spent the last three seasons managing the Red Wings and guided Rochester to an overall 226-206 record during that time. It is not the first time Glynn has coached in the major leagues. He held the same third base coaching job with several organizations, including the from 1996-98, the from 2000-02 and the from 2003-06. Glynn also spent time as the Rockies first base coach in 1994 and 1995. He later was a scout for the from 2007-11.

Glynn is a native of Waseca, Minn., and was an All-American in basketball and baseball. He was named Minnesota's "Mr. Basketball" during his senior year at Waseca High School in 1975. As a baseball player, Glynn spent seven seasons in the minor leagues from 1979-85 and played as high as Triple-A but never reached the majors.

Hernandez has been in the Twins organization for the last 14 seasons. He was a coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins for the last two seasons. A Venezuela native, Hernandez is the first Spanish-speaking coach on Molitor's staff.

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