MINNEAPOLIS – The Twins are overhauling their pitching department. The club announced Monday that pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez will not return to the coaching staff in 2027.
Maki and Ramirez were two of the few coaches that were retained when manager Derek Shelton replaced Rocco Baldelli following the 2025 season. Maki had been with the organization since 2018 and had been the pitching coach since July of 2022. Ramirez had been with the organization since 2006 and was appointed as assistant pitching coach following the 2021 season.
The rest of the Major League coaching staff, including bench coach Mark Hallberg, hitting coach Keith Beauregard and bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins, will return for 2027.
There were certainly some successes under Maki and Ramirez, most notably the emergence of Joe Ryan as a frontline Major League starter and more recently the emergence of rookie Connor Prielipp. But the overall performance by Twins pitchers the past two years has been subpar.
And while it would certainly be unfair to lay all that at the hands of the coaches – health has been an issue, for one thing, and the team carried out a massive selloff at last year’s Trade Deadline that gutted the bullpen – it’s unsurprising for the club to elect to make a change following Shelton’s first season.
The club also announced that assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman will not return.