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Just a few months after Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were tapped to lead the Minnesota Twins following a disastrous 103-loss season, manager Paul Molitor says he's already at ease with the duo.
He's just been brushing up on his vocab a bit.
"I don't have the extensive vocabulary that we've seen these guys display to this point, but I just watch [Bill] O'Reilly and get my Word of the Day and try to put it in there," Molitor told reporters at a press conference Wednesday during MLB's winter meetings.
Falvey, 33, is one of the youngest executives in the league, and joined the Twins as president of baseball operations in October, while Levine left the same role with the Texas Rangers to become the Twins' general manager.
"They have inviting personalities in terms of, you know, there is obviously a fairly easy connection," Molitor said. "But going up the time with Derek leading up to the Indians and the end of their run and bringing Thad in, probably spent more time with Derek to this point."
The Twins are on hand for MLB's winter meetings in Maryland, where the club's future has been a big subject of discussion.
Still, after working alongside former general manager Terry Ryan for years, Molitor says things have definitely changed in the front office.
"You got a guy like Terry who did it for so long, you know what that's like. And it hasn't been dramatically different, but they have a little different way they're operating," he said.
Molitor has had a presence at the meetings, even if Falvey and Levine have taken point.
"There's a lot of club-to-club discussions, potential fits, free-agent meetings with agents, and I haven't been a part of a lot of those type of things," he said. "Up in the boardroom when we are sitting down and kind of hashing out our roster and other rosters and all the different categories of players that are out there, you know, I've been pretty heavily involved with my input in that regard."
Reports have swirled in recent days about the availability of second baseman Brian Dozier, who has become one of baseball's most coveted trade targets after hitting 42 home runs and driving in 99 runs last season.
But while Dozier would surely fetch an impressive haul, Molitor isn't necessarily excited at the prospect of losing his star slugger.
"Him coming back would certainly be a good thing for me," Molitor said. "He and I have a really positive relationship in all regards. I'm kind of following it along and, you know, just kind of see where it goes."
Still, if the right offer comes along Molitor says the Twins will do what's best for the organization.
"As Derek and Thad have said, we have to be open minded about just about anything that people would bring to us just to try to increase our chances of doing what we need to do both in the short-term as well as going forward."
NOTES:
-- Molitor says former players Michael Cuddyer and Torii Hunter have told the club that they're available for "whatever you need" in their roles as special assistants. "There is talk about them coming to spring training early and then again late and the possibility of them sticking around for three weeks in one large chunk," Molitor said. "We're going to try to see what makes the most sense and take advantage of those assets."
-- The departure of third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who was waived by the Twins last month, was tough for Molitor. "When he came in 12 years ago roughly, it was just one of the those relationships that I have had a chance to be a part of in a lot of ways, as a young kid who was looking for a lot of guidance through all the things he endured to become a big league player to his maturation to a good player, good teammate."
-- Molitor says he doesn't want to get "too much in a box" when asked how often Miguel Sano will start at third base following Plouffe's departure.
-- Despite his struggles for much of the season, Molitor said he still has faith in Byron Buxton's high ceiling, and praised the speedy outfielder after his surge in September.
-- When asked about his approach to spring training, Molitor said he doesn't believe it had much to do with the Twins' 0-9 start.
-- The Twins hit plenty of home runs last season, but Molitor says that while he welcomes more power, he still prefers "good at-bats, good situational hitting, good flow on the bases"
