Twins Fans Left Waiting (Again) as Sale Rumors Swirl

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins remain stuck in a strange limbo. Their competitive window slammed shut in late July with a jarring, franchise-altering trade deadline fire sale. In one week, the front office moved 11 players, including eight on deadline day alone. That number represents 40% of the active roster and a whopping $26 million off the payroll.

Yet the question dominating fan conversations isn’t about the prospects received in return or even how bad the big-league product might look in August and September. The question now is simple: When is this team getting sold?

Pohlads’ Time Nearly Up?
It’s been 10 months since the Pohlad family, the franchise’s owners since 1984, announced their intention to sell. Since then, the on-field results have been a roller coaster. A 13-game winning streak in May pushed the team above .500 and into playoff contention. But that high didn’t last long, and the recent selloff made one thing clear: This ownership group is no longer operating with long-term success in mind.

The Front Office Sports report that dropped just hours after the deadline set off alarm bells across Twins Territory. A source indicated that there was “momentum” toward a sale. While no potential buyers have publicly stepped forward and MLB hasn’t confirmed any deals, the timing is raising plenty of eyebrows. After all, why would an ownership group planning to hang around tear its roster down to the studs with two months left in the season?

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hinted at an impending sale during All-Star break interviews. “I can tell you with a lot of confidence that there will be a transaction there,” Manfred said, noting that a clear front-runner had emerged earlier in the process, reportedly Phoenix Suns owner Justin Ishbia before shifting his attention to the Chicago White Sox instead.

“When it becomes clear that you have a leader in the clubhouse, everybody else kind of backs away, right?” Manfred explained. “Because they kind of get a feel for the price, and unless they’re prepared to top it, they’re going to move on and do something else.

That stall may have delayed the process, but momentum seems to be building again. 

What’s the Franchise Worth?
The Pohlads have been reported sticking to their $1.7 billion asking price and they might have been their best business move in quite some time. The Twins might be entering the most valuable seller’s market in team history. Consider the comps:

• Orioles sold in 2023 for $1.725 billion
• Mets in 2020 for $2.475 billion
• Rays, despite a stadium crisis, agreed to a sale in June for $1.7 billion

Minnesota doesn’t have a major stadium issue with the publicly funded Target Field being one of baseball’s best ballparks. It does have one thing those other clubs didn’t, over $400 million in debt. The Pohlads erased some of that debt with the salary dump of Carlos Correa and traded away other team controlled pieces that would become more expensive through the arbitration process.

That looming financial burden could muddy the waters and potentially push the sale price south of the $1.7 billion mark. But even with the debt, the Twins remain an attractive asset. They’re a mid-market team in a modern ballpark with a loyal (albeit frustrated) fan base, (finally) stable TV deal, and a strong regional presence. The hope, among fans and league insiders alike, is that a deal can be finalized before the offseason, so the new ownership can guide the team’s forward path.

What’s Next?
That’s the most complicated part. Nobody knows.

The only certainty is that the Twins need direction and fast. This deadline fire sale wasn’t the result of a front office with a bold new plan. It was a franchise in transition, shedding payroll, hitting reset, and waiting for a new voice to steer the ship.

Will a new owner come in and spend aggressively to rebuild around Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan? Or will they commit to a multi-year rebuild built around the growing stable of prospects now flooding the farm system?

The Pohlads oversaw three distinct eras of Twins baseball: the '90s struggle years, the early-2000s Metrodome miracle runs, and the Target Field optimism that faded into inconsistency. In the end, they leave behind a complicated legacy with financial caution, flashes of success, and a fanbase that always wanted more.

For now, all Minnesota can do is wait. Wait for news. Wait for a fresh vision. Wait for someone, anyone, to take the reins and start putting the pieces back together. Because one thing is clear: the teardown is complete. The future now depends on who’s willing to build it back up.

Will the Twins have new ownership in place before the 2026 season? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[jkcarew]

It’s starting to feel like “be careful what you wish for”.

While the Polads refused to spend money…the outcomes aren’t any different than if ownership wanted to spend money…but didn’t have any to spend.

Why am I starting to get the distinct feeling that a new group is going to come in consisting of guys that had to massively leverage themselves to make the deal? Desperate to turn an annual operating profit is not the new owner scenario I was dreaming of.

[LastOnePicked]

I'm still stumped by all of this, because I'd think it would be a much more attractive prospect to buy a fringy .500 team, replace the manager and a little dead weight and then bolster the roster for a World Series run, than it would be to buy a team that is absolutely gutted in terms of payroll and fan/player morale.

Which is why I still think a sale is unlikely, unless the new buyer has no intentions of coming in and being competitive - and has already made that clear to the Pohlads.

As usual, no matter how it's sliced, Twins fans pay the price for the organization's lack of vision and direction.

[Doctor Gast]

I'm confused about the debt. Is it because they are bad at running a team? I've heard it's that they borrowed money against the Twins. IMO, the Pohlads created the debt; they should be responsible for the debt, not the new owners. If the Pohlads made a profit, would the new owners receive that profit? I don't think so. This sell-off is also very confusing. Is it because of the new owners? If it's the new owners, it looks like the new owners aren't any better than the Pohlads. My only hope is that Falvey & Co. are gone with the Pohlads.

[stringer bell]

14 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm confused about the debt. Is it because they are bad at running a team? I've heard it's that they borrowed money against the Twins. IMO, the Pohlads created the debt; they should be responsible for the debt, not the new owners. If the Pohlads made a profit, would the new owners receive that profit? I don't think so. This sell-off is also very confusing. Is it because of the new owners? If it's the new owners, it looks like the new owners aren't any better than the Pohlads. My only hope is that Falvey & Co. are gone with the Pohlads.

The Pohlads say they were operating at a loss. Lowering payroll can and should make it so that they can at least break even with decent attendance. They haven't done anything to put fannies in the seats, but bringing in new players might bring in someone who could become a fan favorite. Winning is the magic elixir and it is difficult to believe that the Twins will be competitive for a while. The other thing that could help attendance is new ownership, if they are viewed as a breath of fresh air. 

[darin617]

I still don't think they are close to having a buyer for the team. A huge line of crap from Rob Manfred and everyone else saying it. 

As for a new owner not wanting to win right away would make no sense. Why buy a team and not want to win as soon as they could. I still won't understand why they destroyed the pen the way they did. Nobody was making big money and only Coulmbe was going to be a free agent.

[purplesoldier4u]

I wonder who the primary owner might be?

[kenneth frank]

The reason I don't think a sale is imminent is because the salary dump would make no sense. But I'll tell you this, a sale can't happen soon enough. 

[RaoulDuke]

Sounds like the Astro's owner Crane was in the Pohlad's ear about how much more appealing it would look to buyer to have the decks cleared.  That might have just been to get them to agree to trading Correa or maybe he knows a group?

Of the few speculated groups I have seen the Mauer/ Morneau/ Hunter involved one sounds great but I wonder where the money is coming from there.  The other group is some insurance dude and Glen Taylor.  I will actually riot if Glen Taylor is involved, Glue Girl from the playoffs a couple years ago will have nothing on me.

[The Great Hambino]

3 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I'm still stumped by all of this, because I'd think it would be a much more attractive prospect to buy a fringy .500 team, replace the manager and a little dead weight and then bolster the roster for a World Series run, than it would be to buy a team that is absolutely gutted in terms of payroll and fan/player morale.

Which is why I still think a sale is unlikely, unless the new buyer has no intentions of coming in and being competitive - and has already made that clear to the Pohlads.

As usual, no matter how it's sliced, Twins fans pay the price for the organization's lack of vision and direction.

I've been trying to think about how this could relate to a sale, because I agree that it doesn't really make much sense to me.

Could it be a hedge?  Maybe clearing the books while they can in case whatever they have in the works falls through?  Maybe they thought they had Ishbia in the bag and don't want to get burned again.  So clear yourself of future commitments in case you're left holding the bag.  I dunno

I've never been a billionaire, but if I were, I would be thinking about a franchise purchase as a decades-long investment.  I'm not sure prospective buyers are as concerned with the current state of the roster as fans might think.  In my mind, they're playing the long game

[Sjoski]

Why haven't the Twins been sold yet?

Because after trading the whole bullpen, there’s no one left to close the deal! 

[sweetmusicviola16]

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

The Pohlads say they were operating at a loss. Lowering payroll can and should make it so that they can at least break even with decent attendance. They haven't done anything to put fannies in the seats, but bringing in new players might bring in someone who could become a fan favorite. Winning is the magic elixir and it is difficult to believe that the Twins will be competitive for a while. The other thing that could help attendance is new ownership, if they are viewed as a breath of fresh air. 

I'm not so sure they were operating at a loss. I have heard that they borrowed against the team to payoff bad real estate deals. Why would they have even signed Correa to his large contract if they were losing money? It was also reported that they will lose 40 mil this season. 40 mil in two years doesn't add up to 400 mil. Pohlad's been dipping where they shouldn't be. New regime maybe don't know business too well.

[Major League Ready]

5 hours ago, Cody Christie said:

 

 

 

Getting rid of Correa's salary has absolutely no effect on debt.   They did not borrow money to pay for Correa's future salary.  Nightengale should consult someone with a financial background before writing something this dumb.

[terrydactyls]

Another click bait article.  There was nothing in the article except rehashing the trade deadline moves.  But then the comments presented everyone with a lot of unfounded rumors.  More click bait.  How about writing an article about the sale of the Twins when there is actually something happening?

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, The Great Hambino said:

I've never been a billionaire, but if I were, I would be thinking about a franchise purchase as a decades-long investment.  I'm not sure prospective buyers are as concerned with the current state of the roster as fans might think.  In my mind, they're playing the long game

Good thoughts. If I were a billionaire, I'd make it my business to have the state fall in love with my team. I'd bring in the top coaching staff, the top baseball development minds. I'd make it clear that a title run is coming as soon as humanly possible. I'd make a Target Field experience unforgettable.

It's also possible that I'd go from a billionaire a millionaire within just a few years, too.

[SaberNerd]

12 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I'm still stumped by all of this, because I'd think it would be a much more attractive prospect to buy a fringy .500 team, replace the manager and a little dead weight and then bolster the roster for a World Series run, than it would be to buy a team that is absolutely gutted in terms of payroll and fan/player morale.

Someone who is buying the team isn't going to care much about the current state of the roster, unless it is currently a WS competitor. There are only 30 teams, they rarely go on sale, and if you want one you can't be picky. That's why the Rays got 1.7B, and I would think they would be at the bottom of the league in valuation. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

12 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm confused about the debt. Is it because they are bad at running a team? I've heard it's that they borrowed money against the Twins. IMO, the Pohlads created the debt; they should be responsible for the debt, not the new owners. If the Pohlads made a profit, would the new owners receive that profit? I don't think so. This sell-off is also very confusing. Is it because of the new owners? If it's the new owners, it looks like the new owners aren't any better than the Pohlads. My only hope is that Falvey & Co. are gone with the Pohlads.

When you sell a house, you have pay off the mortgage first before putting the capital gains against another asset.
 

If you bought a snowmobile with a second mortgage against your house, and then sell your house, you have to payoff the house and the snowmobile before buying a new house.

What’s confusing me about the debt, is a statement that shedding payroll reduces it in a significant way. Cutting expenses can free up cash to reduce future debt, but debt incurred is debt incurred. It’s like scrapping inventory, you took on debt to buy the inventory, but didn’t sell it. If you scrap the inventory, you still have the debt.

[Nashvilletwin]

12 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm confused about the debt. Is it because they are bad at running a team? I've heard it's that they borrowed money against the Twins. IMO, the Pohlads created the debt; they should be responsible for the debt, not the new owners. If the Pohlads made a profit, would the new owners receive that profit? I don't think so. This sell-off is also very confusing. Is it because of the new owners? If it's the new owners, it looks like the new owners aren't any better than the Pohlads. My only hope is that Falvey & Co. are gone with the Pohlads.

The total value “paid” for a business in a sale is essentially the value of the equity plus any assumed debt less any excess cash (some amount of cash on hand is necessary to run any business).  This is called “enterprise value”. So if the Pohlads are asking for $1.7BB for their equity and are asking that the +$400MM stay with the business, then they are really asking for $2.1BB.

Enterprise Value is also important because it is used to determine comparable value metrics (think EV/sales, EV/EBITDA, etc.). If the there are no earnings or cash flow (i.e EBITDA), then the valuation metric EV/EBITDA is essentially infinity. Not good for a buyer.  This situation may also be indicative of a business in which the entity’s cash flow (again, essentially EBITDA) is insufficient to cover the interest payments.

Thus, the only reason a sale would generally occur in this situation would be if the purchaser were convinced that either the equity value of business would rise rapidly or operating changes could be effected to increase cash flow or the buyer just doesn’t care because it’s an ego purchase. Given the current state of Major League Baseball (especially for small/mid-market teams) and the seemingly little room for the Twins to increase high margin revenues and/or substantially decrease costs over the entirety of the franchise, it’s no wonder the Pohlads are having a tough time selling, certainly at their asking price. It’s just a bad economic deal with very little room to effect positive financial changes to the operations.

The Pohlads may be better off reducing costs in the near term and waiting for the new CBA (which, via a salary cap like the one that saved the NFL, might bring substantial relief and value to the small/mid-sized franchises).

[Doctor Wu]

EXCLUSIVE: The selling of the Minnesota Twins could be weeks away, a source told FOS.

This all sounds like total B.S. Who are these mysterious buyers that are going to save our team? My feeling is that any sale could be months, or even years away. I'm usually an optimist by nature, but selling this team anytime soon seems like a pipe dream.

[Doctor Gast]

30 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

The total value “paid” for a business in a sale is essentially the value of the equity plus any assumed debt less any excess cash (some amount of cash on hand is necessary to run any business).  This is called “enterprise value”. So if the Pohlads are asking for $1.7BB for their equity and are asking that the +$400MM stay with the business, then they are really asking for $2.1BB.

Enterprise Value is also important because it is used to determine comparable value metrics (think EV/sales, EV/EBITDA, etc.). If the there are no earnings or cash flow (i.e EBITDA), then the valuation metric EV/EBITDA is essentially infinity. Not good for a buyer.  This situation may also be indicative of a business in which the entity’s cash flow (again, essentially EBITDA) is insufficient to cover the interest payments.

Thus, the only reason a sale would generally occur in this situation would be if the purchaser were convinced that either the equity value of business would rise rapidly or operating changes could be effected to increase cash flow or the buyer just doesn’t care because it’s an ego purchase. Given the current state of Major League Baseball (especially for small/mid-market teams) and the seemingly little room for the Twins to increase high margin revenues and/or substantially decrease costs over the entirety of the franchise, it’s no wonder the Pohlads are having a tough time selling, certainly at their asking price. It’s just a bad economic deal with very little room to effect positive financial changes to the operations.

The Pohlads may be better off reducing costs in the near term and waiting for the new CBA (which, via a salary cap like the one that saved the NFL, might bring substantial relief and value to the small/mid-sized franchises).

Thank you guys for your input, because I'm a little ignorant about these things.

Another thing I have doubts about is this salary cap. IMO, a salary cap is telling teams you can't spend more than X amount of dollars. I don't especially think that really helps anyone. But if it's profit-sharing-based team salaries, then yeah. then there's equity. With restrictions on small markets to spend all their equity money on players' salaries. Then I think that everybody would be on board except the big markets. But again, it'd kind of ease the stress of competing with other big markets and you are helping to secure the future of the game. It might reduce the exorbitant salaries of some but at the same time raise the salaries of others. Where am I wrong?

[Woof Bronzer]

15 hours ago, jkcarew said:

It’s starting to feel like “be careful what you wish for”.

While the Polads refused to spend money…the outcomes aren’t any different than if ownership wanted to spend money…but didn’t have any to spend.

Why am I starting to get the distinct feeling that a new group is going to come in consisting of guys that had to massively leverage themselves to make the deal? Desperate to turn an annual operating profit is not the new owner scenario I was dreaming of.

The Pohlad family tried to move, then contract the Twins when they didn't get their government handout for a stadium.  You cannot get worse than an owner who is literally willing to evaporate the team if they don't get their way.  

[Woof Bronzer]

Saving $30mil in salaries removed a large chunk of the $400 mil debt?  The math doesn't work there Bob.  

Just another hint that the "sale is imminent" rumors are just bs planted by the Pohlads to stir up interest.  

[NotAboutWinning]

Do we know that the escrow for Correa's contract is not part of that debt? His trade freed up $70m. Either way, that should now be available for debt service. But, seeing as how this is the Pohlads, maybe not.

[David Maro]

The sale of this team unfortunately is a long way away. With the debt its carrying and no TV deal why would buyers look at this as a good investment. Yes there is a stadium but now a product that is not watchable. And the FO and manager have taken this team to the bottom of league.

[Twinkie in Deutschland]

36 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

EXCLUSIVE: The selling of the Minnesota Twins could be weeks away, a source told FOS.

This all sounds like total B.S. Who are these mysterious buyers that are going to save our team? My feeling is that any sale could be months, or even years away. I'm usually an optimist by nature, but selling this team anytime soon seems like a pipe dream.

This is the same question I've been having since the giant selloff. If there were interested buyers, don't they think that they should  identify themselves instead of keeping it a secret? What we really right now is to find out a new buyer is either going the same way with the Pohlads or move the team out of state to North Carolina, Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, or some other profitable place. We've seen this many times before in Minnesota sports history. There are times I wish that Gov. Walz would step in and have a say on this, especially after we donated our money to Target Field. If we want a stadium, we should have a baseball team there as well, especially one that is able to win the World Series. If there are any potential buyers, they should come forward so we can look at them. Follow the Vikings and Wolves' examples for once. 

[Twinkie in Deutschland]

If the Pohlads are serious, they should lower the price to buy the team and walk away with whatever is offered. They are what their record has said over the past 40 years, when comparing them with the other big leaguers, especially those who have won the World Series multiple times over that span. Right now they are doing one of three things:

1. They are resetting the team and with that, another decade of 90+ loss seasons

2. They are making the team so unattractive that they either relocate or sell to someone who does just that. Look at the Montreal Expos and Oakland As

3. They take the team into bankruptcy and it's MLB that will come as a savior to save them. 

In any case, if the Pohlads are dead serious about this, they should up it and be active in selling the team, inform the fans who the buyers are and allow us to decide who should run the team and keep it in MN going forward. They should then explain themselves right up front of why they are making these choices and take it like true men when the heat is on. 

Then they should walk and never set foot on MN soil ever again. 

My take on this.....

[saviking]

Im left wondering how high of a draft pick can we climb to

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

The Pohlad family tried to move, then contract the Twins when they didn't get their government handout for a stadium.  You cannot get worse than an owner who is literally willing to evaporate the team if they don't get their way.  

Sure you can. You can get one that DOES move the team. You can always do worse, just like you can always do better. Given the Pohlads track history, better seemed assured early in the process, now I’m not so sure.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 hour ago, NotAboutWinning said:

Do we know that the escrow for Correa's contract is not part of that debt? His trade freed up $70m. Either way, that should now be available for debt service. But, seeing as how this is the Pohlads, maybe not.

Taking on debt to lump sum pay an escrow account? What’s the point of the escrow in that situation?

agreed, if they did escrow his guaranteed contract, some of that would be freed up to pay down debt, but some of that would be owed the Astros in the trade deal. My assumption is since the players get weekly game checks and don’t get paid year round, they would flow the cash off of operating revenue, but with the size of the contract, this makes sense.

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

The Pohlad family tried to move, then contract the Twins when they didn't get their government handout for a stadium.  You cannot get worse than an owner who is literally willing to evaporate the team if they don't get their way.  

TBF that was the ****** dad. But the dad was the only one that was any good at business.

Twins are another shining example of why generational wealth usually only lasts 3 generations. The 2nd generation are failsons that just get into their business because it was handed to them on a silver platter and they aren't exceptional in any way. The third generation have never had to do anything their entire lives, going through the motions not understanding (or caring) about anything. 

Bill, the only good Pohlad.