MINNEAPOLIS -- With the regular season coming to a close for the Twins on Sunday, they formally announced the hiring of Derek Falvey to be executive vice president and chief baseball officer on Monday.
Falvey, 33, had been Cleveland's assistant general manager for the past year and had been with that organization since 2007. Falvey helped build a roster that saw the Indians win the American League Central this year for the first time since '07.
"I believe the addition of Derek Falvey to the Minnesota Twins will markedly enhance our organizational excellence and bring championship baseball back to Minnesota," Twins owner Jim Pohlad said.
"It's a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to lead the Twins baseball operation," Falvey said. "This is a proud, resilient franchise, and I'm eager to return championship-caliber baseball to the Twin Cities. We will work diligently and collectively to select and develop top performers, advance our processes, and nurture a progressive culture that will make fans across Twins Territory proud."
Falvey is known for his work in player development and for helping the Indians build one of the best rotations in baseball. He oversaw Cleveland's pitching program, which is considered one of the more forward-thinking programs in the game, utilizing biomechanics and unorthodox methods such as having players throughout the Minor League system throw weighted balls.
Pitching remains Minnesota's biggest weakness, as the Twins finished with the second-worst ERA in the Majors and have had trouble developing pitchers in recent years, having to resort to signing expensive contracts to veteran free agents such as Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco with mixed results.
Before being promoted to assistant GM before the season, Falvey previously served as director of baseball operations for four years. As assistant GM, he assisted in all areas of baseball operations, including contracts and statistical work. He also was involved in the acquisition and development of amateur and professional players.
One of his main roles was overseeing the advanced scouting department and he worked closely with manager Terry Francona to disseminate relevant information to the Major League coaching staff on a daily basis. Francona spoke highly of Falvey when asked about him last week.
"He's kind of a rising star, in my opinion," Francona said. "I don't think you're going to talk to anybody around here who doesn't think he is. He does everything."
Falvey represents a departure from Minnesota's old-school ways, as he's well-versed in analytics -- speaking on a panel for player development at the 2013 Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) analytics conference -- and graduated from Trinity College with an economics degree in 2005. He also pitched at Trinity.
Falvey succeeds longtime Twins general manager Terry Ryan, who was dismissed in July. Ryan, 62, served as Minnesota's GM from 1994-2007 and again from 2011 until this year.
Falvey was hired over other known candidates, including interim GM Rob Antony, the Cubs' Jason McLeod, the Royals' J.J. Picollo and the Rays' Chaim Bloom. The Twins utilized the search firm Korn Ferry in helping identify and interview candidates. Pohlad and Twins president Dave St. Peter conducted the interviews.