Justin Morneau, who sat out the 2017 Major League Baseball season after partaking in the World Baseball Classic for Canada, will return to the Minnesota Twins as a special assistant to the team's front office, according to a report by the Canadian Baseball Network.
The British Columbia native made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2003 and was with the team until being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2013 season. He hit 221 of his 247 career home runs with the Twins in a career that also included stops with the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox after he left Pittsburgh.
While the first baseman and designated hitter never officially retired, he played in just 49 games with the Rockies in 2015 and hit .261 in 58 appearances for the White Sox in 2016.
Morneau played in three All-Star Games and won the American League MVP award in 2006, when he hit .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs with the Twins. He sits third on the Twins' all-time homer list behind Harmon Killebrew and Kent Hrbek.