The Minnesota Twins and general manager Thad Levine have decided to part ways. The team made the announcement Friday.
In a statement, the Twins said that Levine is leaving “to pursue new challenges and opportunities, both inside and outside of baseball.”
Minnesota posted a 9-18 record in September and went 28-38 after the All-Star break to fall out of contention for an American League wild-card spot. The Twins eventually finished 82-80, four games out of the AL playoff picture, letting the division rival Detroit Tigers overtake them for a postseason bid.
As of Aug. 10, Minnesota had a 10-game lead over Detroit in the standings. But the Tigers went 31-14 from that point to surge into the playoffs, while the Twins went 17-30.
During his tenure with the Twins, Minnesota made it to the postseason four times and won AL Central division titles in 2019, 2020 and 2023. Levine became Minnesota’s GM in November 2016, joining a front office led by Derek Falvey as chief baseball officer.
Falvey has since been promoted to president of baseball operations and indicated he’ll run the team with the people already in his department without replacing Levine’s position, according to SI.com.
Perhaps hinting at Levine’s future with the organization, he was not mentioned when the team announced manager Rocco Baldelli would return for the 2025 season. Falvey took a lead role in discussing the decision with reporters, with team ownership announcing he would continue to lead baseball operations.
(However, hitting coaches Rudy Hernandez, David Popkins and Derek Shoman, in addition to bench coach Tony Diaz, were dismissed.)
Levine was a candidate for the Boston Red Sox‘s head of baseball operations position last year before Craig Breslow was hired for the job. In 2020, Levine also interviewed for the Philadelphia Phillies‘ president of baseball operations opening that was eventually taken by Dave Dombrowski.
“The time is right for me to pursue my next enriching, professional challenge,” Levine said in the Twins’ statement. “I will forever cherish the friendships that I have made in the Minnesota Twins organization and throughout Twins Territory.”
