Sports
Twins Pitching Coach Wes Johnson Leaving The Team For LSU
Johnson reportedly will get a sizable raise to become the pitching coach at the SEC school. He has been with the Twins for 3 1/2 seasons.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN —The Minnesota Twins announced Monday that pitching coach Wes Johnson will be leaving the organization this week to take a similar position with the Louisiana State University baseball program.
The 51-year-old Johnson, who was hired in 2018, will remain with the team during this week's scheduled 5-game series in Cleveland, the Twins said.
Minnesota (41-33) is in first place in the American League Central Division, 2 games ahead of Cleveland (36-32).
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"Wes Johnson has been an integral part of our organization over the last three and a half seasons and has helped guide our pitchers at the highest level," Twins President Derek Falvey said in a statement.
Falvey continued:"(Johnson's) leadership, insight, creativity and ability to effectively work across a diverse team were hallmarks of his time with the Minnesota Twins. His influence and impact will continue to be realized in Minnesota through the pitchers and staff members he helped mentor. We wish him and his family the best during the next stop at LSU."
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Johnson came to the Twins from the University of Arkansas, becoming the first coach in four decades to go from college straight to an MLB club, according to The Athletic.
Now, his mid-season departure from a first-place MLB team to become an assistant coach in college has stunned some in the game.
However, Aaron Gleeman and Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported Sunday that Johnson will be paid $750,000 per year at LSU after receiving an annual salary of around $350,000 with the Twins.
Under Johnson's tutelage, the 2019 Twins pitching staff —featuring the likes of Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson —set a single-season record with 1,463 strikeouts. During the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Twins set a single-season club record with 9.38 strikeouts-per-nine-innings and Minnesota righty Kenta Maeda finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting.
This season, the Twins have a 3.76 ERA, seventh-best in the American League, according to Team Rankings.com.
The Athletic reported that Twins bullpen coach Pete Maki is expected to take over as the team's lead pitching coach.
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