MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Twins coach Paul Molitor has joined the field of candidates to replace retired manager Tom Kelly.

"I think he made his intentions known Monday with (general manager) Terry Ryan," Molitor's agent, Ron Simon, said Wednesday. "I guess the next move's Terry's."

Molitor said over the weekend that Ryan had asked him to apply and that he would make a decision about pursuing the job soon. On Wednesday, Simon said Molitor was "very sure now."

"He just took some time to think about it," Simon said.

Molitor is the third in-house candidate.

Third base coach Ron Gardenhire, a successful minor league manager for three seasons before joining the Twins' staff in 1991, interviewed with Ryan Sunday. Hitting coach Scott Ullger, who had a winning record in each of seven seasons as a minor-league manager, interviewed on Monday.

Molitor, 45, retired as a player after the 1998 season. He has spent the past two seasons as an all-purpose coach and has drawn praise from the players for helping with several different aspects of the game, from baseball and hitting to the mental approach. Before joining the Twins coaching staff, Molitor had been wooed by Seattle and Toronto for coaching roles, and his name is mentioned every time a job opens in the Milwaukee, where he starred for 15 seasons.

Asked whether Molitor would want to stay with the Twins if he's passed over for the manager's job, Simon said "probably."

Ryan also has a short list of outside candidates he's planning to interview, which would be required if only to meet Major League Baseball's requirement that minority candidates be fairly considered for all managerial openings.

Ryan didn't return a phone call Wednesday.