CHICAGO — Grady Sizemore's playing career ended prematurely, a cascade of injuries and surgeries leading him to hang up his cleats at 33 years old after the 2015 season. He didn't initially see coaching as the path for himself — "definitely not" — but in conversations with some current players, he realized he had the itch to get back in the game.
Sizemore, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and three-time All-Star, took a low-paying internship with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023, allowing him to get back in the game and stay close to home. By mid-2024, he had taken over as the interim manager of the Chicago White Sox after Pedro Grifol was fired during the middle of a 121-loss season, the worst in MLB history. In 2025, he served as Chicago's offensive coordinator.
Sizemore returned to Chicago, the place that gave him his first chance to coach in the major leagues, this week for the first time as a valued member of the Twins' coaching staff, making an impact quickly within the clubhouse.
"He's the man. He truly is," left fielder Trevor Larnach said earlier this season. "I can't say enough good things."
The Twins hired Sizemore this offseason to be their first base coach and work with their outfielders. Sizemore, who spent most of his career with the then-Cleveland Indians, was an early call when first-year manager Derek Shelton was putting together his coaching staff.
Shelton overlapped with Sizemore in Cleveland from 2005-09 when Shelton was the team's hitting coach and Sizemore was in his prime, looking at that point as if he could be on a Hall of Fame trajectory. When he was building his coaching staff, Shelton knew it was important to have "the guy that had their spikes in the dirt." Hiring both Sizemore and bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins were easy calls.
"The biggest thing with Grady … is just getting him to talk. The wealth of knowledge, he's so humble," Shelton said. "I was fortunate to coach Grady Sizemore, not the other way around, because he was such an elite player. There is so much in there."
And now, Twins players are reaping the benefits.
Larnach and Austin Marti, in particular, have made noticeable defensive strides during their months working with Sizemore.
"When you have a guy like that who has played for over 10 years or whatever it was and how good he was — guys that played the game for that long, they know what it takes all season, every month, each good stretch, each bad stretch," Larnach said. "He's a guy that you can come to in all aspects of the game, mentally, physical, everything and he'll help you out. He's even keel and he's here to help."
The fact that players have gravitated towards Sizemore isn't so surprising to Shelton, who said Sizemore has a "unique aura about him," that draws people in and described him as "selfless as anybody I've ever been around."
True to description, Sizemore was more interested in talking about the players and the progress that they had made rather than himself, quickly saying he couldn't take credit for their success.
"I enjoy working with them and pushing them. They're teaching me as much as I'm teaching them," Sizemore said. "Every day, I'm asking them for feedback on what I can do better, and what they want to work on and what they want to emphasize more. So, it's kind of been a give and take."
As for potentially managing again in in the future, as he did for part of the 2024 season, Sizemore said he had fun doing that, but he's enjoying where he's at right now.
"I like being over at first base. I like working with the outfielders. It's been a good process for me. I'm trying to be in the moment as much as I can," Sizemore said. "As much as I'm trying to give feedback and coach, I'm trying to receive as much from my coaches and players. I feel like I've been fortunate to have a good staff to learn from and players that are fun to work with."
