Twins tap Rangers exec as new general manager

The Minnesota Twins Thursday named Texas Rangers executive Thad Levine as the team's new general manager. He'll be a key part of a reconstructed front office operation tasked with returning the Twins to baseball glory.

Levine, 44, will serve under recently appointed chief baseball officer Derek Falvey.

"I couldn't envision a better partner to help return championship-caliber baseball to Minnesota," Falvey said in a statement .

Levine served as a Rangers' assistant general manager since 2005, helping Texas reach the World Series in 2010 and 2011. The Rangers lost both series. Before that, he worked for the Colorado Rockies, including a stint as senior director of baseball operations.

A native of Alexandria, Va., he played baseball at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

In July, with the Twins on pace for another dismal season, team owners fired General Manager Terry Ryan, who'd served the team for decades. The Twins eventually lost 103 games in the season after losing more than 90 games each in four of the five prior seasons.

It's not clear what changes Levine and Falvey will make to the Twins baseball staff, although team owner Jim Pohlad has said manager Paul Molitor will return for the 2017 season.