Doug Mientkiewicz profiles as best new Twins manager

Mark it down now and remember to spell the name: Doug Mientkiewicz is my pick to be the next manager of the Minnesota Twins.

Of course, Twins general manager Terry Ryan will end up having the final say on the pick, with approval and input from the team’s owner and president. Mientkiewicz, 40, just led the Fort Myers Miracle to the Florida State League championship and has guided the Miracle to records of 79-56 in 2013 and 82-57 in 2014.

That looks good on a resume, but what looks even better are Mientkiewicz’s skills in relating to today’s players. Top prospect Byron Buxton, heralded rising power hitters Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas and shortstop Jorge Polanco, Mientkiewicz has managed them all and deserves the shot to manage them again at baseball’s biggest stage.

Ron Gardenhire, who was fired by the Twins on Monday and owns a part-time home in Fort Myers, finished his Twins tenure with a 1,068-1,039 (.507) record in 13 seasons. He joined the organization in 1987 and likely will try managing elsewhere. His winning record as manager of a low-budget team, and his six divisional titles look pretty good on a resume, too.

But the Twins needed a new voice. The question is whether that new voice will come from within the organization or outside of it.

The Twins have a long tradition of promoting from within their ranks. I believe the next Minnesota Twins manager will continue with that trend, and I believe Mientkiewicz should and will be on top of the list. With that, here are, in order, my top five internal candidates for the Minnesota Twins job:

1. Doug Mientkiewicz. He played for Tom Kelly and Gardenhire. He knows the organization inside and out. He brings a fiery attitude to the table. He’s not far removed from his playing days and can relate well to today’s players. He loves to win, hates to lose, handles the media well (although he’s not returning my phone calls right now), and he’s fresh off a Florida State League championship with the Fort Myers Miracle.

2. Jeff Smith. The former Fort Myers Miracle manager in 2008-09 and a Naples High School graduate, served Double-A New Britain as its manager for the past five seasons. Smith played catcher in the Twins organization in 1996-2002 and would fit the trend of former catchers becoming managers.

3. Paul Molitor. He’s a Hall-of-Fame player, a former Twin and was handpicked by the Twins upper management to join the big-league staff this past season as a coach. Naming Molitor as manager would surprise me, however, because if the Twins wanted to name Molitor their manager, they could have done so already entering 2014 instead of extending Gardenhire’s contract for two years.

4. Terry Steinbach. The bench coach the past two seasons, Steinbach played catcher for three seasons for the Twins following 14 years with the Oakland A’s. Like Molitor, however, the Twins could have named Steinbach the manager prior to 2014.

5. Jake Mauer. I’m including Mauer just because he’s a Minnesota native, has intense passion for the game and would have the chance to manage his brother Joe Mauer. Jake Mauer, however, did not have any winning seasons in 2010-2012 when he managed the Fort Myers Miracle. He knows the game, having played a variety of positions in the minor leagues.

Those are my five internatal candidates to take over for Gardenhire as the next manager of the Twins. Perhaps the organization will break tradition and hire someone from outside of the Twins family, but I’m doubting it. I believe Mientkiewicz will be moving into his new office as the Twins manager soon. He will inherit a roster full of talent and potential, including some of the players he has coached these past two seasons in Fort Myers. When 2015 arrives, many of the prospects he helped prepare for the big leagues will be ready to serve him on baseball’s biggest stage. And Mientkiewicz would get his first go-round as a big-league manager in the revamped Hammond Stadium in the recently renamed CenturyLink Sports Complex.

Connect with this reporter: David Dorsey (Facebook), @DavidADorsey (Twitter).