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Twins shakeup coaching staff by reassigning hitting coach and major league field coordinator

MLB: Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins
Apr 30, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Alex Kirilloff (19) celebrates the win over the Kansas City Royals with batting coach Edgar Varela at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins made two changes to their coaching staff on Wednesday, reassigning hitting coach Edgar Varela and major league field coordinator Kevin Morgan to minor league player development roles.

This leaves the Twins looking for a bench coach, a hitting coach and a major league coach for the 2022 season. Bench coach Bill Evers worked his last game on Sunday after informing the club he was going to retire. Evers took over after Mike Bell, the Twins’ bench coach in 2020, died in March after battling cancer. Morgan, 51, also was promoted to the big-league staff following Bell’s death.

The moves come after the Twins finished in last place in the AL Central with a 73-89 record. The team began the season with big expectations after winning back-to-back division titles but fell apart early and never recovered.

Varela, 41, was promoted from Twins’ minor league field coordinator to hitting coach for the 2020 season after James Rowson departed to take a job with the Miami Marlins. Varela and Rudy Hernandez, who was not impacted by Wednesday’s moves, shared the title of hitting coach.

The Twins finished 17th in MLB this season with a .241 batting average this season. Despite the fact the Twins finished 26th in the big leagues with a 4.83 ERA, pitching coach Wes Johnson will return for a fourth season.