Breaking Up with the Pohlads: Ranking the Future Options for the Minnesota Twins

[Cody Christie]

Breaking up can be hard to do. For Twins fans, they are ready to move on to a new ownership group, but can the Pohlads say goodbye?

 

Image courtesy of © David Berding-Imagn Images

Change is (hopefully) coming for the Minnesota Twins, and fans seem more than ready. The chatter around the current ownership’s potential move to sell the team has been as heated as a nail-biter at Target Field. As the debate continues, let’s break down the three potential outcomes for the Pohlad family and rank them from best to worst for the hometown nine.

1. The Pohlads Fully Sell the Team
This is the option that has fans buzzing with excitement. Imagine the feeling of a long-awaited breakup finally coming to fruition. There were good times in the relationship, but it's clearly not working out. It’s not you, it’s me. For many, the idea of the Pohlad family completely stepping aside is like turning the page on a painful chapter. After decades at the helm, the signs point to a clear need for new energy and fresh perspectives. Last season was riddled with frustration over payroll cuts and a TV deal that left a bad taste in the mouths of the fanbase.

A complete sale means that a new ownership group could come in and invest not only financially but also emotionally in the team. Change at the top can bring a renewed focus on building a competitive, fan-first organization. With the Twins currently in a promising winning window, a change in leadership could be the catalyst that keeps the team in contention, especially in a wide-open American League. No longer burdened by the weight of family disputes or outdated business models, a new owner could refocus resources on creating a more vibrant game-day experience and address long-standing grievances from fans who have felt sidelined by decisions made far from the ballpark.

The potential for a complete sale is bolstered by the fact that the Twins’ current valuation is estimated at around $1.5 billion, a figure that starkly contrasts the $1.7 billion price tag the Pohlad family aims for. As a reminder, the family purchased the team for $44 million in 1984. This disparity has long been a sore point for fans, who see the team’s legacy as more than just a line item on a balance sheet. Ultimately, a complete sale could be the best way to preserve the team’s rich history while ushering in an era of accountability and growth. New owners with fresh pockets and perhaps a more modern vision are more likely to listen to the fanbase's pulse, which has been sorely lacking in recent years.

2. The Pohlads Sell A Portion of the Team
While this option isn’t as appealing as a full sale, it still represents a middle ground that could appease both sides of the divide, although only marginally. Recent reports at The Athletic said that current Twins chairman Joe Pohlad has expressed a desire to remain involved, which makes a complete hand-off less likely. Instead, fans might see a situation where certain family members buy out others or bring in new minority owners to infuse fresh capital and ideas into the organization. There have been discussions with potential new partners who have already shown interest, especially those from Minnesota who understand the local pulse and what it means to be a Twins fan.

The downside here is the lingering sense of incomplete separation. Fans have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the Pohlad era, and a partial sale would do little to quench that desire for change. It’s like having a band breakup where the lead singer stays on for the next album. The core spirit of what made the group special might still be missing. While some might argue that Joe Pohlad’s continued involvement could provide a bridge between the old guard and new ownership, it also risks perpetuating the same issues that led to the current state of discontent.

A partial sale might feel like a missed opportunity for those who cherish the team’s history but yearn for a decisive new direction. It’s a compromise that doesn’t fully commit to change, leaving many old problems simmering beneath the surface. Yet, if done right, this outcome could at least introduce some of the necessary financial backing and operational restructuring that has been lacking. It’s a “better-than-nothing” scenario offering incremental improvements rather than the sweeping changes fans are clamoring for.

3. The Pohlads Keep the Team
In this worst-case scenario, the Pohlad family holds onto the team despite the growing chorus of dissent from the fanbase. This option is reminiscent of a messy breakup where neither party can fully cut the cord. The Pohlad family reportedly aims for $1.7 billion for the team, even though Forbes recently valued the club at $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, the team is saddled with approximately $425 million in debt, a stark reminder that the business side of baseball is far from the romanticized world playing out on the diamond.

When the very people who built and sustained the team for decades end up clashing with the fans, it creates a toxic atmosphere that’s hard to ignore. It’s a classic case of pride before the fall. The ongoing feud and misalignment between the ownership and the supporters only amplify frustrations. Fans have long felt that the decisions made by the Pohlad family have left the team underachieving despite being in the midst of a competitive window on the field.

Keeping the team under the same ownership might mean a continuation of the status quo, a situation many believe is no longer tenable. The financial metrics don’t add up, and the discontent among the fanbase is palpable. Just as the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels have toyed with selling their franchises only to retract the offer, holding onto the Twins could become a similar cautionary tale. It would be a business decision that ultimately alienates those who form the lifeblood of the team.

In this scenario, the emotional disconnect between the ownership and the supporters would likely deepen, undermining the spirit of community and passion that has defined Minnesota baseball for so long. The familiar clamor for change would only grow louder, potentially jeopardizing everything from local support to the overall marketability of the franchise.

In the grand scheme, a full sale of the Twins is the most promising outcome for fans eager for a fresh start. It offers the best chance for revitalizing the franchise with new ideas and investments and serves as a symbolic end to an era marked by financial missteps and strained relationships. While slightly more palatable, a partial sale risks leaving lingering issues unresolved. And if the Pohlad family decides to cling on, it could begin a prolonged period of fan frustration and operational challenges.

The next few months will be critical as the team’s future hangs in the balance. For the fans, this isn’t just about dollars and cents. It's about preserving a legacy and reigniting the passion that makes baseball in Minnesota so uniquely thrilling. With so much at stake, one thing is clear: change is in the air, and the clock is ticking for the Twins to enter a new era.

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[dxpavelka]

New ownership is going to come in and spend like drunken sailors.  They will sign every available free agent.  In fact they will sign so many free agents that other teams will go out of business.  We'll be the Yankees / Dodgers / Red Sox / Angels / Padres of flyover country.  We'll win so many  titles we'll have to BUILD brand new streets exclusively for parades.  And we'll still have to have one in St. Paul every once in a while just to avoid boredom with the designated route.  Life will be so good. 

[Mark G]

Behind door #1 is a new owner.  A shiny new suit, a new FO, and new blood.  But you have to gamble on who the new folks are going to be.  Will they be naughty, or nice?  Choose at your own risk.  😉

Behind door #2 is a new owner........sort of.  He/She/They may keep one or more of the old owners around to run things........sort of.  You will never know who is really calling the shots, so you will never know who to be mad at or shake their hand.  A tempting pick.

Behind door #3 is........well, the MN Twins.  Love em or hate em, what you saw is what you will see.  

So, lucky player, which door do you choose? 🤔

[Cory Engelhardt]

I can’t imagine a scenario where #2 happens and the new owner or ownership group is like “you know what, we do want Joe Pohlad to stick around, that’s a great idea!”

Maybe I’m missing something here, but if I am fronting 1.5-1.7 billion for a team, I would want to own that team and call the shots.

Heck, if I were paying $500 dollars I’d have the same answer

[tony&rodney]

Whenever I watch the Twins play, I must confess that I never think about the Pohlads. Yesterday, I was watching both the Saints and the Twins (mostly the Saints during their innings 1-7) and never thought about who owns the Saints. Sometimes I wonder how the Twins roster was configured but I'm pretty sure the owners are out of the loop on that. I do hope the Twins ownership quandary is resolved in the best interest of many people's mental health. 

[Nashvilletwin]

The Pohlads are living a seller’s nightmare scenario at the moment.  Why?

1. The industry in which the Twins operate is undergoing massive dislocations that undermine the predictability/certainty that buyers willing to pay a premium price usually seek.  These dislocations include: a) uncertainties regarding lucrative (and once steady) cash flow from TV rights; b) the explosion of player spending by large market teams (who have figured out the media rights revenue opportunities) and their owners has brought in new questions about the ability of small/mid-market teams to compete on the field (winning teams bring in more revenues and the lack of a true salary cap is so detrimental to franchises like the Twins); c) the rising costs to successfully operate a the entire ecosystem of a major league franchise; and d) questions about the growth rate, or lack thereof, of the entire MLB industry itself.

2. The “winning” window was missed.  Last year when decisions regarding a sale were being made, the plan was to win the division, demonstrate the upside of the franchise by hosting sold out pennant run and at least a few home playoff games, drive TV revenues in 2025, and show what great shape the operations were in. Instead, a historically bad collapse last August/September proved just the opposite; namely, the operations were not nearly as solid as depicted and the fan support was more fickle and dependent on performance. The performance to date this season has not been overly encouraging and questions about fan commitment at the gate and through TV subscriptions have only been augmented.  The playoff run last season was supposed to mask many of the underlying issues for the franchise. Instead, the collapse only magnified them.

Its a very tough situation for the Pohlads to be looking to maximize price.
 

[Doctor Gast]

Of the 3 options you gave #1 is the only acceptable one. Status quo is clearly not the answer & that's what options 2 & 3 are all about. I'd also be open for an option 4. Option 4 is Pohlads keep the Twins but shake up the management. I'd be open to keep Falvey where he is & let him influence the pitching but limit his control on everything else. I'd even be open in keeping Baldelli, but only as a bench coach, firing Tingler, Watkins & Conger. We need a baseball-smart FO that can hire a baseball-smart manager that brings in a crew that can properly evaluate, scout, draft & develop players to be MLBers while knows the need for analytics but allow his gut feelings & baseball-smarts rule;  A FO who can properly evaluate our needs & is able to iniate & negotiate necessary trades, 

We are a mid-market team, copying NYY thinking that signing expensive FAs & adapting weird analytics while ignoring fundamentals like defense to drive this team has been foolhardy. Our solution is in player evaluation, development & trading, much like CLE has been doing. My suggestion is to bring back Andy MacPhail & have him mentor his son, Drew & have Drew take over when he's ready. IMO Joe Pohlads doesn't know how to even manage this team financially, so it's best for him to sell for whatever he can get & get out.

[CRF]

Having the Pohlad's gone...can't happen soon enough. 

[LambchoP]

Everyone in twins territory knows we need new owners. I was hoping the sale would go through early this year so that if we need a few pieces at the trade deadline, new ownership could ok a bit of a splash to get fans on their side. Looks like that won't be happening. There's always next year right? Vlad is looking for a new team lol ....

[Rhyno006]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Its a very tough situation for the Pohlads to be looking to maximize price.
 

And they only have themselves to blame for the most part. 

[TopGunn#22]

Great points Nashvilletwin.  The entire economic landscape of Major League Baseball is changing and with all this uncertainty the Pohlad's are acting like they are in a position to overinflate the value of their team to solve all the financial issues of the Pohlad empire.

I will allow this:  It is THEIR team and they are under no obligation to sell it.  However, last off season with the payroll reduction and lack of any significant moves to keep pace with their division rivals coupled with the end of season collapse seems to have been a breaking point between the fanbase and the Pohlad family ownership group. 

The 0-4 start doesn't help, but I think the fanbase is just at a point that even if the Twins won 17 of their next 20 games they just don't want to put another nickel into the Pohlad family hands.  That could change as the weather warms up, but I don't see it. 

This is going to be a VERY DIFFICULT year for the Pohlad family.  Without $50 million dollars of regional sports network money as a cushion they are going to lose some serious money.  Their position as "sellers" is going to deteriorate.  I heard a rumor that a local group offered $1.5 billion for the team (market value according to Forbes) but the Pohlad's said "NO."  The want their $1.7 to $1.75 billion, above market value price.

The problem the Pohlad's have is that they squandered their chance to be back-to-back division champs and the "Baseball Gods" refuse to let their star players, most notably Royce Lewis, remain healthy and productive.  Compare the situations of the Twins and T-Wolves as each sale unfolds.  The Twins can't keep their star players healthy and on the field, while the T-Wolves have Anthony Edwards, a young, rising star who is eminently marketable. 

And the Wolves were coming off a successful playoff run all the way to the Western Conference Finals.  Glenn Taylor did a "Whoops! I undervalued my team!!  I've got to find a way to raise the agreed upon sale price or renege on the sale!!"  Taylor lost in arbitration and he's on the way out.  The Pohlad's insist on over valuing their team while staring down the barrel of a very lackluster attendance revenue projection.  A LOSE-LOSE-LOSE situation if I've ever seen one.  

The 3 possible outcomes are succinctly listed.  But the eventual outcome is etched in stone.  Selling a portion of the team only to leave Joe Pohlad in charge is DOA.  Keeping the team is DOA.  Only a complete sale and banishment of the Pohlad's from our collective consciousness is the likely outcome.  How much money can the Pohlad's afford to lose this summer.

The other very interesting aspect of this sale/non sale is the complete media silence on who some of the ownership candidates are or could be.  The Ishbia brothers emerged immediately but in hindsight that was by design only to leverage a better opportunity with the White Sox.  It's shocking that other prospective ownership candidates have had such a tight lid on any rumor or speculation.  It may very well be that there really aren't "multiple suitors" for the Twins.  At least not until the Pohlad family lowers the price to the level of the $1.5 billion dollar market valuation.  

 

[killebrewlover]

I'm sorry.  But this team MUST have new ownership.  Period.

[tony&rodney]

Everyone loves a good rumor. I'm going to call b.s., however, on the $1.5 B offer for the Twins rumor and wonder how serious or at what price the Ishbia's were even interested in the Twins. The Twins market is tough and going to get much tougher in this economy. People might have to wait four years before the team sells. Now someone buying the White Sox. That has promise; big city that loves sports. I can buy that idea.

[Unwinder]

Whatever happens, I just hope that the Pohlads make lots of money. That's who we're all really worried about here.

[Guest]

You left out #4:  the Pohlads donate the team to the Minneapolis City Council, which declares all tickets and TV subscription rates will be free....

[Whitey333]

Very good article.  But it is their team to do with what they wish.  I hope they sell and let new ownership take over the team 100%.  No Joe Pohlad.  He just brings toxicity to the organization.  I contend that payroll is ok.  They are ranked 19th this year just barely in the bottom half but we'll above everyone else in the division.  Mu contention is the FO has done a lousy job of allocating those dollars.  The winning window is a farce.  They have missed the playoffs 3 of the past 4 years with about a middle of the pack payroll.

[Linus]

I think the reporting and fan base got way over their skis on this. This isn’t like selling a house where you no a qualified buyer is likely visiting soon. This transaction will be complicated and take a bunch of time and Thats is after a buyer is found willing to pay the Pohlads price. I don’t expect anything to happen soon so there really isn’t any point in writing or worrying about it until something substantial changes. 

[D.C Twins]

What a S-Show.... looks like the Pohlads aren't going anywhere 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Everyone loves a good rumor. I'm going to call b.s., however, on the $1.5 B offer for the Twins rumor and wonder how serious or at what price the Ishbia's were even interested in the Twins. The Twins market is tough and going to get much tougher in this economy. People might have to wait four years before the team sells. Now someone buying the White Sox. That has promise; big city that loves sports. I can buy that idea.

Yes, Chicago definitely loves sports, but. . . 

The White Sox are by far the team with the lowest interest in Chicago, and they were even when they won the WS back a few years ago.  It’s a Bears town.  Period.  Then it’s a Bulls town, for recent historical success reasons.  Then it’s a Cubs town, for some rather silly reasons.  Then it’s a Blackhawks town, especially now that they have a couple of building blocks in place.  Heck, Notre Dame football might even be a bigger deal in Chicago than the White Sox.  That makes them number 5 or 6 in the pecking order among fans.  A recent example of this is the stadium situation.  The Bears have a poorly thought out proposal in the suburbs that they are leveraging against the city of Chicago, but they will certainly eventually get their stadium.  The White Sox have a rather cool proposal that they proposed and they inspired quite a bit of uncomfortable laughter with regard to a new Sox stadium.  I think Ishbia just really wants to buy his (adopted) home town team, and that I can understand.  

I do agree that it could take awhile for the Twins to sell.  I hope not, but there are definitely some obstacles in the way at the moment.  However, just like when you sell a house, it only takes one buyer who really wants it.  Let’s hope the Twins find that buyer.  And soon. 

[MGM4706]

The Pohlads have been great for local communities and programs including building fields and hosting Twins Camps!!

But as far as setting winning as a priority, not so much. Not spending on Pitching has been a key drag on winning. Spending to keep Mauer for a decade was great but then they didn't spend to put a competitive team around him. 

So it is time for a fresh look, with Winning as the focus!!

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Very good article.  But it is their team to do with what they wish.  I hope they sell and let new ownership take over the team 100%.  No Joe Pohlad.  He just brings toxicity to the organization.  I contend that payroll is ok.  They are ranked 19th this year just barely in the bottom half but we'll above everyone else in the division.  Mu contention is the FO has done a lousy job of allocating those dollars.  The winning window is a farce.  They have missed the playoffs 3 of the past 4 years with about a middle of the pack payroll.

Which dollars would you allocate differently.

Correa?  It seems the vast majority of posters here sternly preferred to keep him when his name was raised. 

Buxton?  His production per dollar spent is way above the league average for free agents.  Buxton's WAR per dollar spent is double Carlos Correa.

Vasquez?  Nothing that can be done about that one and it was a pretty popular signing at the time.

Lopez?  He has been our best pitcher.  You want to get rid of him?  I could actually see that happening in Matthews or Prielipp emerge as top of the rotation arms but that's a big IF.

Bader?  That money is looking like it was well spent.

Paddack?  I might agree with that one but there is also plenty of time to reallocate that asset this year.

[Major League Ready]

I think the problem with selling this team or any small/mid market team is buyers don't see the nearly the same potential for growth in valuation as they did just a few years ago.  The return on capital from Operating Income is about 2% so the heck is going to do that unless they believe the asset valuation will grow.  

[KirbyDome89]

4 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Everyone loves a good rumor. I'm going to call b.s., however, on the $1.5 B offer for the Twins rumor and wonder how serious or at what price the Ishbia's were even interested in the Twins. The Twins market is tough and going to get much tougher in this economy. People might have to wait four years before the team sells. Now someone buying the White Sox. That has promise; big city that loves sports. I can buy that idea.

You think the Athletic is just making this stuff up? 

[tony&rodney]

Just now, KirbyDome89 said:

You think the Athletic is just making this stuff up? 

No, it was leaked nonsense. Happens.

[TheLeviathan]

Slow day in the article department eh?

[nicksaviking]

I really want a sale, but everyone here is really underestimating the chances of new owners being just as bad or worse. It absolutely could be Marlins/Pirates/A's worse. 

I'm more than happy to take that chance, but it is a real and significant possibility, yet too many think it will be time for a parade, despite not even knowing who these hypothetical billionaires even are.

[KirbyDome89]

43 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

No, it was leaked nonsense. Happens.

So they don't vet their sources and they're comfortable staking their professional reputation on "leaked nonsense?" Ok.  

[Original_JB]

I'm just going to add: 4. Who else (including potential buyers) had any idea that the Twins were carrying over $400M in debt? I think we can agree that that is debt brought over from other Pohlad endeavors that haven't worked out so well. Their team/business, their choice.  But, if that debt wasn't tied to the team, IMO, the team would have been sold by now.

[TwinsChupacabra]

The billionaire class doesn't care what you think.  Unfortunately, that is who controls every team in every sport.  Discussing getting rid of the family that tried to eliminate the franchise 24 years ago and trading it for another billionaire owner is a depressing topic. 

 

[Major League Ready]

14 hours ago, KirbyDome89 said:

So they don't vet their sources and they're comfortable staking their professional reputation on "leaked nonsense?" Ok.  

Are you kidding me?  Half-truths, innuendo, and misinformation have become standard operating practice for "news outlets".  Try fact checking the mainstream media sometime and online sources present whatever drives clicks.  It's really effective because people are very receptive to things they want to believe.