HITTING COACH

Tom Brunansky

Age: 52

Background: He hit 271 home runs over 14 seasons with the Angels, Twins, Cardinals, Red Sox and Brewers. He made the All-Star team for the Twins in 1985 and batted .259 with 32 home runs, 85 RBI in 1987, helping Minnesota win the World Series. After coaching at Poway (Calif.) High School, he returned to the Twins as the hitting coach at their Gulf Coast League affiliate in 2010. He spent 2011 at Class AA New Britain and this season at Class AAA Rochester.

What he'll bring: Chris Parmelee and Brian Dozier have raved about his ability to keep them in the right frame of mind at the plate. Besides teaching mechanics and preparing hitters for individual matchups with pitchers, Brunansky can relate his own experiences as a big league hitter.

BENCH COACH

Terry Steinbach

Age: 50

Background: A New Ulm, Minn., native, he played third base for the Gophers and converted to catcher in the minors, becoming a three-time All-Star for Oakland. He batted .271 with 162 home runs over 14 big league seasons, the final three for the Twins. He worked as a spring training instructor with the Twins for 13 years and assisted with Wayzata's varsity team the past five years.

What he'll bring: A manager relies on his bench coach to help strategize during a game -- for example, deciding when to steal and when to hit and run. Catchers have to know how to run a game behind the plate, which is why so many -- including Mike Matheny and Bruce Bochy -- have become big league managers.

BULLPEN COACH

Bobby Cuellar

Age: 60

Background: A righthanded pitcher from the University of Texas, he made four major league appearances for the Rangers in 1977 but spent most of his 11 professional seasons in the minors. He's been a minor league manager for three seasons and has been a big league pitching coach with for the Mariners, Expos, Rangers and Pirates. He was Class AAA Rochester's pitching coach for eight of the past 11 seasons and gets credit for teaching Johan Santana his changeup.

What he'll bring: Beyond answering the bullpen phone when it rings, Cuellar will give the Twins a second pitching coach to work with Rick Anderson. Cuellar also gives the Twins coaching staff someone fluent in Spanish, something they've lacked over the years.

JOE CHRISTENSEN