Minnesota Twins hire Jeff Smith as first base coach
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins have hired Jeff Smith as first base coach.
Smith replaces Butch Davis, who was not offered a new contract. The Twins also announced Wednesday that Jeff Pickler will serve as the team's major league coach and coordinator of major league development.
Smith has managed or coached at various levels in the Twins minor league system for the last 12 seasons, spending the last two as manager at Single-A Fort Myers. He played nine seasons of minor league baseball with the Minnesota, Texas and Boston organizations.
Pickler spent the last two seasons as special assistant for player development for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He played in 904 career minor league games in the Milwaukee, Texas and Colorado organizations.
