What the Latest Twins Ownership Update Could Mean for the Franchise This Season

[Cody Christie]

The Minnesota Twins' ownership transition has hit a significant snag, with reports indicating that the sale process will take longer than initially anticipated. Recent reports suggest the process could take at least six months. So, what does that mean for the franchise in 2025?

Image courtesy of © David Berding-Imagn Images

When news broke last year that the Pohlad family was exploring a sale, the goal was to have a new owner in place early in the 2025 season. However, those plans have been derailed, mainly due to Justin Ishbia withdrawing from consideration as a potential buyer. With Ishbia out of the picture, the team doesn't have a clear frontrunner (at least one who has been publicly identified), leading to uncertainty about when and to whom the team will ultimately be sold.

According to the Star-Tribune, the sale is now expected to take at least another six months, pushing the timeline well beyond Opening Day and possibly into late summer or early fall.

“A source with direct knowledge of the process said the Twins still believe a sale could be completed within that six-month time frame,” reported La Velle E. Neal III. “That sounds more ambitious to me with each passing day. That’s why I’m predicting this to be final by August or September.”

Pohlad Family’s Position
Despite the delays, the Pohlads remain motivated sellers. The family has owned the franchise since 1984, when Carl Pohlad purchased the team for $44 million. Under their stewardship, the Twins have won two World Series titles (1987 and 1991) and have remained a competitive small- to mid-market club. However, the next generation of the family is looking to step away from ownership, prioritizing other business ventures.

There have been whispers that the Pohlads could reconsider their decision to sell altogether. Similar situations have occurred with other Major League Baseball franchises in recent years, most notably with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels. Both teams were put on the market, only for ownership to ultimately decide against selling. While such a scenario remains possible for the Twins, the prevailing belief is that the Pohlads still intend to complete the sale. The process is just taking longer than they had hoped.

How the Delayed Sale Impacts the Twins' 2025 Season
One of the significant ramifications of the prolonged sale process is how it might affect the team’s financial decisions, particularly regarding midseason moves. When an ownership group is in transition, it's not uncommon for financial conservatism to take precedence over aggressive spending. The Twins were able to add a small amount to the payroll late this winter, but if the sale drags on, they might not have the same privilege this summer.

The team has legitimate playoff aspirations, especially with a relatively weak AL Central division. However, a lack of financial commitment from ownership at the deadline could leave the roster vulnerable if injuries arise, or if additional reinforcements are needed for any other reason.

What’s Next?
With Ishbia out of the picture, speculation continues regarding who could purchase the team. A high-profile buyer or ownership group with deep pockets could significantly alter the franchise’s trajectory. While historically operating as a mid-market team, the Twins could see a shift in financial strategy under new ownership, potentially leading to a more aggressive approach in free agency and player acquisitions. On the other hand, of course, being bought by a group akin to the Pohlads could lead the team in the same direction they're already trending under the family's leadership.

MLB franchise sales have become increasingly complex, with valuations soaring in recent years. The Twins are expected to command a price well north of $1 billion, which limits the pool of potential buyers. Regardless of who emerges as the eventual buyer, the delay means that for at least the 2025 season, the Pohlads remain at the helm. That stability can be a double-edged sword. While it means continuity in the front office and baseball operations, it also brings uncertainty about the team’s seriousness about contending.

The Bigger Picture
For Twins fans, the drawn-out sale process creates frustration. Many were hopeful that a new ownership group would bring fresh energy and a more significant financial commitment to competing at the highest level. Instead, they are left waiting as the process drags on.

At this point, all signs indicate that the Twins will have the same ownership group in place for the entirety of the 2025 season. Whether that significantly impacts how the team operates remains to be seen. If the Twins find themselves in the thick of a playoff race come July, the financial decisions made at that point will speak volumes about how the ownership situation truly impacts the team.

For now, the waiting game continues. While the Pohlads still appear motivated to sell, Twins Territory must remain patient as the process unfolds.

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[dxpavelka]

I love how fans just assume that new ownership is going to come in and spend money like a drunken sailor.  And that doing so is going to somehow make the team successful. 

[thelanges5]

Another Trevor Richards trade deadline is in the works. 

[NYCTK]

What this means for the Twins is attendance will drop further. Interest in the club is at a 25 year low. 

 

[DJL44]

This is why the deal might not happen if it doesn't happen this year

https://www.sportico.com/business/finance/2022/coveted-tax-write-off-for-sports-team-1234699071/

[HrbieFan]

Have no other potential buyers names been leaked?  Just shocked that someone hasn't overhead another name in the last 5 months. Pohlads have an excellent opportunity to increase the value by going on a run to the WS 

[Whitey333]

The Twins have generally had a payroll around or just slightly under the average fir MLB teams.  Although I surely support and hope for a sale to owners that may be mire committed to winning I must admit that I think payroll has been ok overall.  I also think Falvey has done a rotten job of budgeting that payroll.  People that are expecting someone to come in and dump tobs of money on payroll may be very disappointed.  Yes new owners would be great if they are committed ti the area and development of the team.  I just hope we don't get worse than what we have like the Marlins and Rays.

[mikelink45]

Don't underestimate the potential for a recession and the impact of tariffs and ICE for a league that is looking to expand internationally and depends on lots of international stars.  Even billionaires look at economic forecasts and it might be that the value of the team is dropping.  How do the Pohlads respond to all this news?

And how does MLB in its quest for a salary cap?  Stay tuned there is a lot more than the Twins team sale coming during the season.

[DJL44]

19 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Even billionaires look at economic forecasts and it might be that the value of the team is dropping. 

A lot of them are looking at their portfolios and realizing they may not have enough resources to make a bid.

[Karbo]

I don't think this is going to be a week division. It turned out to be pretty good last year, and the other teams have been fairly active this off season.

[NYCTK]

14 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

...ICE for a league that is looking to expand internationally and depends on lots of international stars.

Great points, but this I hadn't thought of. We could very well see the stock of the United States as a destination for exceptional international individuals crater like we're seeing with the nazi car company. The attempted deportation of a permanent resident protestor on flimsy "anti-american" accusations? 

The USA could very well look much like Russia within a few years, with all the protectionism and complete destruction of soft power, and the industries remaining would be left with a fraction of the value. 

[beckmt]

With a better than 50 - 50 chance of a lockout after the 2026 season, that uncertainty is going to affect the price. Rich people do not like uncertainty.  That will tend to drive the price lower, and it may well not make the Pohlad's an offer they can accept.  My feeling is unless Glenn Taylor steps up after the Wolves sale goes through, this team could well linger on the market until after the baseball financials are resolved sometime in 2027.

[NYCTK]

10 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

A lot of them are looking at their portfolios and realizing they may not have enough resources to make a bid.

Thankfully the GOP is working on more tax cuts for those struggling job creators 🙏

 

#savetheyachts 

[NYCTK]

33 minutes ago, beckmt said:

With a better than 50 - 50 chance of a lockout after the 2026 season, that uncertainty is going to affect the price. Rich people do not like uncertainty.  That will tend to drive the price lower, and it may well not make the Pohlad's an offer they can accept.  My feeling is unless Glenn Taylor steps up after the Wolves sale goes through, this team could well linger on the market until after the baseball financials are resolved sometime in 2027.

Yeah. I'm convinced now. Unless some miraculous stability appears in DC, there's just far too much uncertainty in every facet of consideration. 

Pohlad's aren't selling. Another failure from the failsons. 

This means the Twins aren't actually competing this year. Nor next in all likelihood. 

[Doctor Gast]

It won't make much difference who owns the Twins if Falvey & CO, are in control. Our only hope is to get someone in that'll shake the organization up. '25 has been lost, But hopefully a new owner will get in soon enough to get a new baseball smart organization in place to affect '26. Minimize the damage.

[madtowntwin]

A major factor in play is that a potential a Billionaire Buyer has to completely open their books and divulge all resources to examination in determining solidity / validity of their offer....No option for "Dark Money." 

[In My La Z boy]

21 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Yeah. I'm convinced now. Unless some miraculous stability appears in DC, there's just far too much uncertainty in every facet of consideration. 

Pohlad's aren't selling. Another failure from the failsons. 

This means the Twins aren't actually competing this year. Nor next in all likelihood. 

The world of commercial real estate and the world of financing says the Pohlads probably NEED to sell. With Buffet dumping all his real estate holdings, very little in the way of demand for commercial real estate, and the high borrowing costs on debt, the Pohlads "other" businesses are in trouble. Cashing out on the Twins solves a lot of their problems. If they get a qualified buyer they sell.

[NYCTK]

16 minutes ago, In My La Z boy said:

The world of commercial real estate and the world of financing says the Pohlads probably NEED to sell. With Buffet dumping all his real estate holdings, very little in the way of demand for commercial real estate, and the high borrowing costs on debt, the Pohlads "other" businesses are in trouble. Cashing out on the Twins solves a lot of their problems. If they get a qualified buyer they sell.

Actually hilarious how terrible of business people the Pohlad family turned out to be. Carl must be looking up at them, so pissed. 

[shimrod]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

Thankfully the GOP is working on more tax cuts for those struggling job creators 🙏

Yep, billionaires are salivating over the potential for tax free tips and overtime. 

[NYCTK]

6 minutes ago, shimrod said:

Yep, billionaires are salivating over the potential for tax free tips and overtime. 

Oh, the naiveté.

Clapping at the crumbs while the billionaires get cookies, all while they massively explode the deficit while simultaneously yelling at how large the national debt. All as a pretense for the world's richest man (and ironically, the world's biggest welfare queen) to fire veterans and take away benefits and services from those most in need. 

 

[terrydactyls]

I got excited when I read the headline.  But the "latest Twins ownership update" is that nothing is new except for a worsening of the US economic situation which (in my humble opinion) makes a possible sale of the Twins the least of my concerns.

[The Great Hambino]

If the reports that the Rays are being pressured by MLB to sell in the wake of their stadium fiasco are true, that can't be helpful for a Twins sale if the Pohlads have a number they need to hit before pulling the trigger.  Supply up, price down

 

[Parfigliano]

6 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

If the reports that the Rays are being pressured by MLB to sell in the wake of their stadium fiasco are true, that can't be helpful for a Twins sale if the Pohlads have a number they need to hit before pulling the trigger.  Supply up, price down

 

Glad we went there last year before the roof left the building.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

This is why the deal might not happen if it doesn't happen this year

https://www.sportico.com/business/finance/2022/coveted-tax-write-off-for-sports-team-1234699071/

Target Field (and most ballparks) are not owned by the teams. They're mostly owned by a county/city for many reasons. The residential zoned buildings immediately surrounding the stadiums are often the target for sports franchise owners because of the value appreciation. Since the owners don't usually keep the properties, t's not all that helpful do depreciate the low value purchased property asset in year 1 only to turn around and eat gargantuan tax gains when the owner sells the now much more valuable property to a developer in year 2 or 3 after the stadium is built. When it comes to the Twins, certainly there is some additional write down opportunity at stake, but I wouldn't think it'll be a significant factor in the sale of the franchise.
 

46 minutes ago, In My La Z boy said:

The world of commercial real estate and the world of financing says the Pohlads probably NEED to sell. With Buffet dumping all his real estate holdings, very little in the way of demand for commercial real estate, and the high borrowing costs on debt, the Pohlads "other" businesses are in trouble. Cashing out on the Twins solves a lot of their problems. If they get a qualified buyer they sell.

If the Pohlad family was desperate, the team would have already been sold. The sale of the Minnesota Twins is undoubtedly to free up additional liquidity for the family to diversify their holdings, but it doesn't appear to be critical. The Twins expanded the payroll this year as further evidence of the lack of a crisis. Furthermore, MLB looks at team finances on a regular basis and requires a level of safety and liquidity to be in place. If the team doesn't have the liquidity, MLB will force team payrolls down (Padres) or outright force an owner to sell (Mets).

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

It won't make much difference who owns the Twins if Falvey & CO, are in control. Our only hope is to get someone in that'll shake the organization up. '25 has been lost, But hopefully a new owner will get in soon enough to get a new baseball smart organization in place to affect '26.

Yes, someone gets it.  Thank you.

The longer it takes for the Pohlads to sell, the longer Falvey/Rocco are at the helm. And the longer this small/mid-market franchise is unable to successfully develop or capitalize on transitioning high upside home grown position player talent into successful major leaguers, and the longer the team will struggle to develop any sort of a competetive advantage.

If you can’t take the likes of Kiriloff, Larnach, Miranda, Lee, Lewis, Wallner, Martin, Julien, Speer, Rooker and others and turn at least one or more into a true full time major league Minnesota Twin (or get the equivalent of one in return in a trade), a franchise like the Twins has really no chance (and a super rich, egomaniac owner who spends wildly will not materialise to bail us all out).

This is the real implication of a failed/delayed sales process.

[tony&rodney]

The Pohlads surely want to clear their books asap. I wish them luck in completing the process. The payroll has remained in the #16-18 range among MLB teams. The yo-yo in payroll from 2022 to 2024 that brought historic venom towards ownership now sits just under $150 million. The Twins have been the rich team in the AL Central during the Falvey era with mixed results. One wonders when the focus on results will shift towards the folks who actually are responsible for the product and players on the field. In the meantime we can hope we don't read any more articles on owners, but are focused on our wishes for good baseball.

[Nashvilletwin]

24 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Target Field (and most ballparks) are not owned by the teams. They're mostly owned by a county/city for many reasons. The residential zoned buildings immediately surrounding the stadiums are often the target for sports franchise owners because of the value appreciation. Since the owners don't usually keep the properties, t's not all that helpful do depreciate the low value purchased property asset in year 1 only to turn around and eat gargantuan tax gains when the owner sells the now much more valuable property to a developer in year 2 or 3 after the stadium is built. When it comes to the Twins, certainly there is some additional write down opportunity at stake, but I wouldn't think it'll be a significant factor in the sale of the franchise.
 

If the Pohlad family was desperate, the team would have already been sold. The sale of the Minnesota Twins is undoubtedly to free up additional liquidity for the family to diversify their holdings, but it doesn't appear to be critical. The Twins expanded the payroll this year as further evidence of the lack of a crisis. Furthermore, MLB looks at team finances on a regular basis and requires a level of safety and liquidity to be in place. If the team doesn't have the liquidity, MLB will force team payrolls down (Padres) or outright force an owner to sell (Mets).

100% agree.  It is highly unlikely that the Pohlads have any sort of liquidity crisis. However, that does not mean they wouldn't like  to rid themselves of a cash eating business.

The decision to sell is much more likely that they are seeking to rotate out of a negative cash flow asset with limited/slowing equity value appreciation upside into other assets, including commercial real estate, that can provide better overall returns. 

[luckylager]

3 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Great points, but this I hadn't thought of. We could very well see the stock of the United States as a destination for exceptional international individuals crater like we're seeing with the nazi car company.

 

What does Volkswagen have to do with all this?

[Craig Arko]

I also wonder how long before the Blue Jays are compelled to relocate. 

[gman]

45 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

I also wonder how long before the Blue Jays are compelled to relocate. 

I was wondering if they would have to find a temporary stadium to play in such as in a Buffalo location.