As the days of the offseason tick down and the Twins prepare to congregate in Florida — pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training next Thursday — Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll remains on the lookout for ways to bolster the bullpen.
He also is navigating a new set of job responsibilities after a surprising leadership change near the top of the the organization.
On Friday, president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey left the organization in what was described as a “mutual” decision between Falvey and the club. A search has begun to replace Falvey on the business side, while Zoll — officially the general manager under Falvey — now becomes the top decision-maker in the baseball operations department.
While his title remains the same, it’s another jump in duties for the 35-year-old, who joined the Twins in 2017 and has worked his way up, starting as the team’s director of minor league operations before ascending to assistant general manager and then general manager after the 2024 season.
Now, new executive chair Tom Pohlad says he is “100 percent committed” to Zoll as the right leader at this time.
“We lucked out with Jeremy Zoll being in this position right now to be able to have the continuity and stability in our baseball department,” Pohlad said. “He strikes me as aggressive, decisive, very competitive.”
Pohlad took over the role from his younger brother, Joe, in mid-December and a major new duty for Zoll will be liaising with ownership, a responsibility that was primarily Falvey’s since he was hired in 2016.
While Falvey had Thad Levine as his general manager for much of his tenure, Zoll, Zoll hasn’t identified a second in command and instead plans lean on the Twins’ group of assistant general managers and others.
“We’re all just going to roll up our sleeves and lean in a little bit further,” Zoll said. “We have daily check-in with the AGM group, plus a few of our other team leaders that work across the pro personnel space. … Continuing with a collaborative approach, for sure, and definitely going to lean heavily on the AGM crew and some of our VPs and directors to attack it together.”
As he steps into the new roll, Zoll has his work cut out for him. Pohlad has said multiple times that he expects the Twins, coming off two consecutive fourth-place finishes, to be competitive in 2026 although payroll is down from what it was a year ago, and there is work to be done to patch up the roster — particularly in the bullpen.
“I have the utmost belief in Jeremy Zoll,” Falvey said. “His passion for it, his work habits, his work ethic, his relationship-building are exceptional, and I think he’s going to continue to take the reins and keep going, just as he has over the last year. Ultimately, I’ll always be a resource for him and a phone call away, but I think he’s perfectly conditioned to take on whatever the next steps are.”
Related Articles
Twins claim relief pitcher Jackson Kowar
What did Derek Falvey accomplish during his nine-year Twins tenure?
Shipley: Timing was a surprise, but Twins and Vikings moves not a shock
In surprising move, Derek Falvey out as Twins president
Taylor Rogers wasn’t Twins’ last addition to bullpen
Leave a Reply