Twins hire former Padres manager Jayce Tingler as bench coach

Tingler will serve as Rocco Baldelli's right-hand man in the dugout

The Minnesota Twins announced on Monday they had hired former San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler as their new bench coach. Tingler, 40 years old, spent the previous two seasons as Padres skipper. 

He was fired after amassing a 116-106 record, good for a 52.3 winning percentage. Tingler led the Padres to the postseason in 2020, but oversaw a disappointing and injury-ravaged campaign in 2021 that left them on the outside looking in during October following an offseason that saw them acquire Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, among other big-name players.

The Padres have since hired former Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin as their new skipper. 

Prior to becoming the Padres manager, Tingler had served in a variety of roles for the Texas Rangers organization. This will mark his first stint in a bench coach capacity, though it's not hard to envision him using the role to eventually return to the managerial position over the coming years.

Tingler will technically be the third bench coach the Twins have employed under Rocco Baldelli since he took over as manager prior to the 2019 season. Derek Shelton, who first served in that capacity, was hired away to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates in advance of the 2020 campaign. Mike Bell, who replaced Shelton, died last spring after a bout with kidney cancer.

The Twins did not name a replacement for Bell, but longtime coach Bill Evers served as an unofficial bench coach of sorts. Evers retired at season's end, creating an opening on the staff that will go to Tingler.

The Twins are coming off a disappointing year of their own. Though favored to win the American League Central in spring, the club fell well short of those expectations, instead recording their first losing season under Baldelli and finishing in last place with a 73-89 record.