As their disappointing 2024 season came to a close, Twins leadership expressed its intentions to keep president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli in their current roles.

But the expectation was that there was going to be some kind of shakeup within the coaching ranks after the Twins collapsed in the final six weeks of the season and missed the playoffs.

That first move has reportedly happened with hitting coach David Popkins being informed that the Twins will not renew his contract, per a report from The Athletic. The Twins have not said publicly yet whether they intend to keep assistant hitting coaches Derek Shomon and Rudy Hernandez on board.

The decision to part ways with Popkins, who was the Twins’ hitting coach for the past three seasons, came after a dramatic drop-off in offensive production late in the season. In the final month, the Twins hit .218 with a .285 on-base percentage and .338 team slugging percentage, averaging just 3.48 runs per game.

“Unfortunately it was our offensive production in aggregate and our overall defensive play that I think held us back more than the pitching,” Falvey said Sunday. “I think our offensive contributions are where we came up shorter than I would have been able to predict over the last six weeks.”

Players whom the Twins were relying on to be key contributors, Royce Lewis among them, dramatically tailed off as the Twins slumped to a 9-18 September record.

Despite the gut-wrenching finish, shortstop Carlos Correa, who has consistently sung Popkins’ praises, did so again on Sunday, unprompted.

“(Popkins) helped me understand myself a little better,” Correa said. “A .900 OPS for some people comes with homers and walks. For me, it comes with being a little more creative and he helped me understand that I don’t have to hit a home run e very at-bat. Pop has been a huge help for me and I’m grateful that I came to this organization and he was my hitting coach.”