SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Twins have asked hall of famer Paul Molitor to be their next manager.
According to a person with direct knowledge, contract talks were still ongoing as of Saturday evening.
The two sides were "still working on it," the person told the Pioneer Press.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan, wrapping up a week-long scouting trip to the Arizona Fall League, refused to say whether he had offered the job to the 58-year-old Molitor or anyone else.
"It will be good when this thing is finalized and we can move on," Ryan said. "I know a lot of people are anxious to get us to name a manager, which is fine. Energized? We're going to make a change and we're going to move forward is what it comes down to."
Coming off four straight seasons of 92 losses or more and faced with steadily declining attendance at Target Field, the Twins fired Ron Gardenhire on Sept. 29 after 13 seasons as manager. Saturday marked Day 34 of the exhaustive process, which apparently came down to Molitor and Boston Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo.
Class A Fort Myers manager Doug Mientkiewicz also received multiple interviews.
Seven known candidates interviewed in all, including Triple-A Rochester manager Gene Glynn.
"We had a lot of candidates and good ones," Ryan said. "I think the give and take was sincere. I thought the process was good and of quality. It's not too much different than the last time we went through this thing."
That time, amid contraction threats, the Twins waited until Jan. 4, 2002 to name Gardenhire as Tom Kelly's successor. What followed were six American League Central titles in the next nine seasons.
The Twins hope Molitor, a product of St. Paul and the University of Minnesota, can have a similar impact on their stalled franchise. Known as "The Ignitor" during his playing career, Molitor has spent all but three of the past 19 seasons in the Twins organization.
Most recently, he spent 2014 as an infield coach on Gardenhire's big-league staff. Molitor, who also coached first base after the all-star break, had a variety of responsibilities as he oversaw bunting, baserunning and a significant increase in the Twins' use of infield shifts on defense.
"We need to start moving positively forward," Ryan said. "We've got a lot of work to do. We've made some strides here, but unfortunately it wasn't enough, so I'm anxious to get going with a new regime and see exactly where it takes us."
Ryan said it was helpful to hear from voices outside the organization, which included Cleveland Indians first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Chicago White Sox third-base coach Joe McEwing and Toronto Blue Jays bench coach DeMarlo Hale. The Twins also received permission to interview Oakland bench coach Chip Hale, but the ex-Twins player was hired as Arizona Diamondbacks manager before the interview could take place.
"You try to find out the best guys out there that are available that might have interest, that are ready for the job, and you go from there and you go through the process," Ryan said. "It's time-consuming but well worth it."
He brushed aside a suggestion that this search may have been agonizing.
"No, it's not," he said. "It's a process. The only agonizing part of this whole ordeal is when you have to tell a person they didn't get the job. That's the worst part of this thing."
If Molitor is hired, he would become the 13th Twins manager since 1961 and just the third in nearly three full decades. Kelly, who managed Molitor during his final three seasons as a player (1996-98), was hired to replace the fired Ray Miller in September 1986.
The Twins won the World Series twice in the next five seasons.
"We weren't looking for 'yes' men," Ryan said of the search. "There's no doubt. I didn't feel any of that coming back. Everything people responded with was the truth in their minds. That was a good part of it as well. Every guy that came in, actually I think they gave the answers that they felt in their heart were the right answers."
