Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli spends most of his life around a group of Twins.
His future is going to be a little different.
Baldelli is going on paternity leave after Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. His wife, Allie, is expecting twin boys in the following days.
“We’re excited. It’s twins, and we didn’t know what to expect and we didn’t know or even anticipate making it this far,” Rocco Baldelli said.
“So we’ve made it practically to the end of kind of the time that they gave out for us, so that’s fantastic and I believe excellent for the babies. Allie’s still feeling really good, so I mean we’re lucky.
Rocco and Allie got married during the All-Star break in 2021. They welcomed a daughter, Louisa, on Sept. 6, 2021.
After Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox, the AL Central-leading Twins visit Cincinnati for a three-game series and then open a six-game homestand on Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels.
Bench coach Jayce Tingler will handle the team while Baldelli is abroad.
“I don’t have a plan for a comeback yet. I’m not sure when that’s going to be,” Baldelli added. “We’ll see how Allie’s feeling and how everyone’s doing.”
Right-handers Joe Ryan, Kenta Maeda and Bailey Ober are listed as the starting pitchers against the Reds, while Baldelli indicated left-hander Dallas Keuchel will work out of the bullpen for now. The 35-year-old Keuchel has no record and an 8.03 ERA in three September starts.
“We have five men right now that are in the rotation currently, and that might change,” Baldelli added. “We could wind up with a different five guys. We could end with six guys.
We could end up with four individuals in the rotation near the end of the regular season. We’re going to have to see just the way it best suits for everyone.”
