Whatever Twins plans, Derek Shelton ‘really wanted’ to be their manager

Derek Shelton was introduced as the Twins manager on Tuesday, and it was a strange one for, as the team likes to say, Twins Territory.

The tenor of Shelton’s introductory news conference was less about how he would make the team a winner and more about whether a team that traded 10 of its best players at the July 31 deadline can be a winner.

The burning questions weren’t aimed at deciphering whether Shelton is the right guy so much as getting the new manager — and team president Derek Falvey — to shed some light on whether the Twins are rebuilding, whether veteran starters Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan might be traded, and whether the payroll might rise significantly.

All that was on the table, Shelton said, when he spoke with ownership point man Joe Pohlad during the interview process, thou