TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays are looking for a new quality control coach after the Minnesota Twins hired Derek Shelton as their bench coach under manager Paul Molitor on Monday.
Shelton joined the Blue Jays in a role created last year by general manager Ross Atkins to replace the assistant hitting coach position that had been held by Eric Owens.
Building on his experience as a hitting coach – seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays after years with Cleveland, where he worked under Atkins and Mark Shapiro – Shelton served in an all-encompassing role, working with hitters, pitchers, coaches and the front office.
Shelton’s departure is the only one for the Blue Jays coaching staff, which received contract extensions through 2018 with 2019 club options during the season to match manager John Gibbons’ contractual status. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale was the lone exception at the time, but he will also be back next year.
The Twins’ bench coach position opened up when Joe Vavra left to join the Detroit Tigers as the quality control coach under Ron Gardenhire.
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