James Rowson is a natural fit for the New York Yankees. Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y, he went to high school in the Bronx just up the Deegan from Yankee Stadium.

But his ties to the Minnesota Twins are now looking just as strong.

Rowson was one of the four names remaining now that The Athletic reported the Twins have “narrowed” their managerial search. The Athletic also names former Twins bench coach and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton, former Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais, and Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty.

If Rowson were to land the job and leave, it would force the Yankees to hire their fourth hitting coach since 2021.

The Bomba Squad Receipt

Rowson has the resume and the connection in Minneapolis.

He helped steer the 2019 Twins into the Bomba Squad. 

They slugged 307 home runs, an MLB record, with a .832 team OPS and 939 runs.

That lineup was not one star carrying noise. It was a system that turned average fly balls into damage up and down the order. If you are the Twins today, looking for an identity that plays in October, that season is still the cleanest proof of concept you can point to.

The Yankees Year That Matters

After parting ways with long-time hitting coach Marcus Thames after the 2021 season, the Yankees fired Dillon Lawson in the middle of the 2023 season. Sean Casey served as the hitting coach for the second half of that season. Rowson, who had coached in the Yankees’ minor league system, was brought back to be the hitting coach.

The 2025 New York Yankees under Rowson led MLB in home runs with 274 and finished with an MLB-best 118 wRC+. They scored 849 runs and posted a .787 team OPS. The names change, but the shape of the offense does not. Pull-side authority, swing decisions built for run creation, and buy-in from stars like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton down to role players like Jose Caballero. Judge put up another mega season. The rest of the lineup followed the plan often enough to lead the sport in the only column that counts in October, extra base damage.

What It Would Mean For The Yankees

If Rowson lands the Minnesota job, the Yankees lose more than a title on the staff. They lose the translator who turned front-office ideals into runs on the field.

The 2025 offense crushed  274 home runs, had a 118 wRC+ and scored  849 runs. Sure, talent plays a huge part, but it is also the daily language about hunting fastballs in the zone, swing decisions, and damage on pitches you can actually drive.

The system does not vanish if the coach does.

The Yankees have built an organization-wide playbook for how they want at-bats to look. The question becomes translation and trust. Rowson is the voice hitters heard in the cage and in the dugout when the moment sped up. Replacing that voice cleanly matters most for the role players and the young guys who live on routine, not the stars who can self-correct at game speed.

The Yankees are already losing veteran assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, who is stepping back into a different role in the organization.

From the front office view, Rowson getting a manager’s chair is a backhanded win. It validates the model New York just used to lead the league in power and run creation. But it also starts the clock. The Yankees would want a replacement in place early in the winter so offseason work, swing audits, and individualized plans are built by the same person who will be in the cage on Day 1 in Tampa.

The Risk And The Payoff

No hitting coach is a magic wand.

The 2019 Minnesota Twins also benefited from a juiced ball and health. The 2025 New York Yankees had MVP-level work from the captain and veteran pop that aged well. But the connective tissue is real. If the Minnesota Twins want a manager who can be the head of the offense and the translator for what the front office values, Rowson is the cleanest line you can draw from plan to runs.