Twins interviewed Frank Viola for pitching coach position, but will pass

Frank Viola, currently the Mets' Triple-A pitching coach, was interviewed regarding the Twins' pitching coach vacancy, but the team has informed him he is not one of the finalists for the job. With that, Viola is still slated to coach for the Mets in Las Vegas in 2015.

Viola's connection to the Twins goes back to his playing career. He was drafted by the Twins out of college and then spent his first seven major league seasons—including one in which he won the Cy Young—with them before being traded in 1989 to the Mets. He stayed with the Mets through 1991 before joining the Red Sox, Reds, and finally the Blue Jays.

Viola joined the Mets in a coaching capacity beginning in 2011 as the pitching coach for the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones. A year later he took the same position with the Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats, where he remained for two seasons. This past year he was named the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s, but had the beginning of his season delayed due to heart surgery.

Reviews of Viola's work as a pitching coach have generally been positive, and he will surely continue to play an important role for the Mets, as Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, and Steven Matz all figure to spend time at Triple-A in 2015.