Rocco Baldelli, Ex-Red Sox And R.I. Native, Named Twins’ New Manager

The fraternity of former Boston Red Sox players with major league managing gigs is getting a new member.

The Minnesota Twins hired Rocco Baldelli as their new manager Thursday, the team announced on social media.

Baldelli, who spent last season as the Tampa Bay Rays’ major league field coordinator, is just 37 years old and has no managerial experience at any level. But such is the current trend in Major League Baseball of bringing in fresh faces at the managing level, just as the Red Sox did with Alex Cora and the New York Yankees did with Aaron Boone.

Baldelli, a Rhode Island native, spent six of his seven major league seasons as a player with the Rays, interrupted only by a stint with the Red Sox during the 2009 season.

After accepting the Twins job, the “Woonsocket Rocket” becomes the fifth ex-Red Sox player currently managing a big league team, joining Cora (Boston), Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay), Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Gabe Kapler (Philadelphia Phillies).

Baldelli takes over for the recently-fired Paul Molitor, who stumbled to a 78-84 record with Minnesota this season.