The Twins are making changes on the pitching side after another season that ended short of the playoffs.
Minnesota fired major-league pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez on Monday, the club announced. Assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman also will not return next season.
Maki had been in the organization since 2018 in a variety of jobs. He became the pitching coach on July 1, 2022, after Wes Johnson left abruptly for LSU. Before that, Maki worked as the club’s bullpen coach and minor league pitching coordinator.
Ramirez’s run with the Twins stretched all the way back to 2006. Over that span, he filled several roles, and he had spent the last five seasons as the assistant pitching coach.
Kirkman had been with Minnesota for seven seasons, including the last five in his current position. Even with his departure, head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and assistant athletic trainer Masamichi Abe are staying put, despite another year filled with injuries to key players.
The pitching staff’s numbers tell the story of a rough year. The Twins finished with a 4.56 ERA, sixth-worst in MLB.
That came with ace Pablo Lopez missing the entire season, Joe Ryan out for part of it, and a bullpen that was thinned out repeatedly along the way. Even so, the club still ranked in the top half of the league in strikeouts and saves.
There were some brighter spots elsewhere on the roster. Offensively, the Twins finished in the top half of the league in most categories.
No other staff changes were announced. Most of the remaining coaches were brought in when Derek Shelton was hired last offseason, including former Twin and longtime big leaguer LaTroy Hawkins, who served as bullpen coach this year.
In Other News...
Twins May Have Just Seen A Painful Goodbye Behind The Plate
The Twins closed their 2026 season with a 6-4 win over the Rangers, and for Mitch Jeffers, it may have also marked the end of the line in Minnesota for now. Jeffers wrapped up his final game of the year with the club, then looked back on a career that brought both staying power and a strong individual season, even with injury setbacks interrupting the run.
What comes next is the part Minnesota has to brace for. Jeffers is set to hit free agency this winter, and the Twins are left weighing an uncertain future behind the plate while also sorting through other roster moves. For a team that values stability at catcher, the possibility of moving on from Jeffers adds another significant decision to an already busy offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Coaching Shakeup Feels Like The Start Of Something Bigger
The Twins wasted little time starting their offseason overhaul, moving on from pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez after the regular season ended. The shakeup also reached the training room, where assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman is no longer with the club, even as head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and top assistant Masamichi Abe are staying put.
For Minnesota, the staff changes feel like more than routine turnover. Replacing both leaders of the pitching program suggests the organization wants a fresh direction on the mound, and the front office has now put the coaching side of that conversation squarely on the table as it heads into next season. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Pitchers Are Suddenly All Over This Postseason
The Twins may be on the outside looking in this October, but plenty of their old pitching inventory is still very much in the postseason mix. A list of 11 former Minnesota arms has surfaced across the 2026 MLB playoffs, a reminder of how much turnover can ripple through a pitching staff and how often ex-Twins end up scattered around the bracket. Caleb Thielbar is with the Cubs, Jhoan Duran is in Philadelphia, and Tyler Mahle is part of Atlantas rotation picture, giving the postseason a distinctly Minnesota-flavored subplot even without the Twins themselves involved.
What makes it especially notable is the sheer reach of it all, with those former Twins tied to multiple series and matchups as the playoff schedule unfolds. For a fan base that has watched a lot of arms come and go, this is one of those October snapshots that says as much about organizational churn as it does about the players themselves. The full list stretches well beyond the biggest names, and the spread of destinations makes it clear just how many different contenders are carrying a little bit of Minnesota pitching history with them. [Read more 🡒]