The Twins are reportedly down to three names for their job: Baldelli, Hyde and bench coach Derek Shelton. Baldelli and Hyde have had two interviews with Minnesota. One rumour is that it could be Baldelli with Shelton serving as his bench coach, as they know each other from Tampa, but it’s unclear if that’s based on anything more than speculation. Espada had an initial interview with Minnesota, but was not invited back for a second interview.
There was also an interesting article on Cincinnati’s process. The Reds interviewed 12 candidates for about a full day each. They had three finalists, who were invited back for a written test and a second full day of interviews. The finalists were Ausmus, who has since been appointed in Anaheim, Joe Girardi and Bell. Baldelli was one of the twelve who interviewed in Cincinnati, but was not a finalist. It doesn’t appear as if Hyde or Espada was a candidate, although the Reds reportedly talked over the phone to a couple of other candidates.
One interesting note is that most organizations seem to be doing two rounds of in-person interviews, whereas the Jays appear to have got to their shortlist through telephone interviews.
