REPORT: Cubs Coach Is A Finalist For Twins Manager Position

The Twins fired Paul Molitor following the 2018 season and the front office has now narrowed down its search for a new manager to three finalists, including current Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported on Tuesday morning that the three finalists are Rocco Baldelli, Derek Shelton and Hyde. Via The Athletic.

Sources confirmed that Tampa Bay Rays field coordinator Rocco Baldelli had a follow-up interview on Monday, bench coach Derek Shelton had his last week and that Chicago Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde is another finalist after making a strong impression during his first round.

Hyde, who's been with the Cubs since Theo Epstein took over, reportedly interviewed with the Angels, Rangers and Blue Jays this offseason for their respective manager job as well. So, he's been a hot candidate and that's probably why the Cubs still haven't officially listed their coaching staff for 2019, saying they would at a later time. According to Hayes, Hyde made a strong impression on the Twins, but another name of interest, David Ross, was never actually interviewed despite previous reports saying Minnesota was intrigued by the former Cubs catcher.

While the Cubs legend was vetted among the team’s original 20-24 candidates, one source said the Twins got the impression Ross was uncertain about his future. The Twins weren’t sure Ross truly ever was interested in managing them.

And you know what, that makes sense and stays consistent with what Ross said last offseason. After 2017, Dave Martinez left the Cubs to become the Nationals manager, leaving the Cubs without a bench coach. Hyde eventually got that job, but Ross was rumored to be a possible candidate. However, he did address it and said he wasn't quite ready to step back in to the every-day grind of a baseball season. Ross still works as an analyst for ESPN and is a special assistant in the Cubs front office. Of course, Ross will continue to be put in rumors for open manager positions and even Hayes speculates in his article about the Twins that Ross might be a factor in the next managerial search for the Cubs, which might be as as soon as next year. During the weekend, Jon Heyman reported that people around the league believe Joe Girardi is holding out until after the 2019 season to see if the Cubs move on from Joe Maddon. Back to Ross though, I still don't think he'll dive in head-first back into baseball as a manager. Anyway, good luck to Brandon Hyde.