Baldelli praised the heck out of Toe in a Providence Journal article last week. I will try to find it.
https://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20190307/ris-rocco-baldelli-handles-challenges-with-poise
Baldelli dealt with only a small group of reporters on Thursday, though there was a fair amount to cover with the Twins lighting up the scoreboard in a 12-1 win over the Red Sox. But Baldelli still handles each question with poise and a calculated approach, while still mixing in some humor; at one point, he jokingly accused a reporter of peeking at one of his note cards.
Though he doesn’t give everything away, like most managers, Baldelli does not dance around the questions regarding each of his players. For example, he was asked about former Yankee Ronald Torreyes’ versatility and what he projects his role to be.
“Well, he’s capable of doing many different things,” Baldelli said. “He’s got the baseball player gene inside him, as well, where you could put him in any situation and he has the ability to figure out a way to make it work. You can put him all around the infield. He has a nice compact bat, line-drive hitter. Likes to hit and run — it’s his personal preference, actually, which is kind of interesting. But he does all of these things that has — he has the ability to do it and also makes the guys around him better because he’s a great teammate and a great guy, as well. There’s not a lot to be critical of. The way he takes care of business every day, it’s a pleasure to be around him and makes you want to keep complimenting him because he does all these things. He is the definition of a versatile guy who can do a lot of different things to help you.”
While Baldelli is quick to compliment Torreyes and other players on his roster, he’ll need to have a difficult conversation with a few of them in the coming days, with the first round of cuts approaching in the next couple of days.