Short-Term Pain: Joe Pohlad Says It All With Three Dastardly Words

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

In a season-ending interview with the Star Tribune, Joe Pohlad telegraphed ownership's intentions for the offseason and the 2026 Twins more clearly than ever before. "The goal is to win a World Series," he said. "That doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with some pain in the short term.”

Pohlad is obviously not referencing next season when he talks about attempting to win a World Series. Instead, he's referencing some vague future state where the Twins are a legitimate championship contender, something they've been unable to accomplish in the entirety of his adult life. And he's dangling that vague future state as the payoff that will justify the short-term (more accurately: indefinite) pain that fans have only begun to experience.

“At some point you gotta look at yourself and be like, ‘You know what? We’ve gotta try something different.’ And not everybody’s going to like it," Pohlad shared. "You’ve gotta own it. Fans are going to be upset. They’re going to say what they’re going to say. And you gotta keep moving forward, and trust that you’re making the right decision.”

For starters, "you've gotta own it" is a hilarious statement from an ownership figurehead who has scarcely made himself available for comment while his franchise has devolved into a disastrous state. So is "we've got to try something different" as he continues to stick with the baseball leader who architected this abject failure. But in his usual tone-deaf and cryptic terms, he's said enough.

I'm glad Joe Pohlad trusts that he's making the right decisions, while giving fans no reason whatsoever to share that trust. He's asking us not to believe our eyes. As reporter Reid Forgrave wrote in the Star Tribune article, "it's worth noting: 2023’s excitement was based on a team that won a wild-card series, not a World Series. That resurgent team only had the 11th-best record in baseball — a fringe playoff team, not a bona fide contender."

This was intended, I guess, to sort of reflect ownership's higher aspirations, but instead it underscores how short they've repeatedly fallen. That "fringe playoff team" was the pinnacle of their success in the Target Field era. It was the culmination of six years of team-building under Derek Falvey, who now gets to start over after firing the manager he hand-picked.

The Twins have one 90-win season in the last 15 years, despite playing in one of baseball's softest divisions. They've lagged competitively with payrolls that, to the faint credit of the Pohlads, have been pretty reasonable by the standards of a mid-market MLB franchise. (In fact, they've invested enough to put themselves heavily in debt, forcing outrageous actions like a massive payroll cut coming off a playoff breakthrough, if you take their word for it. (I don't take their word for it.))

Now we're being told it's time to pull back those investments. More right-sizing. “Baseball is all about finding that right balance between patience and striking when the moment is right,” Pohlad said, in the aftermath of squandering a historic moment. You don't have to read between the lines much to see what that means for next year. Patience. Pain.

Okay, fine, that's how it goes, if you believe in the model of a rebuild — predicated on low-cost rosters full of young developing players, taking their licks and filtering out on the way to constructing a quality team. It's worked before. The Twins do at least appear to have a worthy long-term centerpiece in Walker Jenkins. You just have to wonder what this "short-term pain" means for the people involved who don't have the luxury of patience.

Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are in the primes of their careers, two years from free agency. Why would they want to play for a team that keeps trending downward offensively and defensively, and is openly not trying to contend? The same question, unfortunately, goes for Byron Buxton, with some rumblings that he could be compelled to waive his no-trade clause after all. 

The idea of this team's lack of commitment to winning becoming so intense that it shatters Buxton's loyal resolve ... it's grim. That turn of events would somehow take the state of affairs with this franchise to an all-new level of shame. As someone who counts Buxton as probably their favorite player of all time, I'd find it pretty tough to care much about the 2026 team. I know I'm not alone.

But I guess it's just the "short-term pain" that we all have to deal with as a trade-off for putting our faith in the people who got in this situation to begin with. If Buxton and Lopez and Ryan all exit this offseason, at least we can take comfort in the knowledge that Joe Pohlad wants to win a World Series someday. 

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[CRF]

Excellent article. 

[StiltedGopher]

Joe Pohlad, poster child for the estate tax.  

[killertwinfan]

Plainly put and exactly how I feel.  Since our playoff win this organization has done the opposite of trying to win the World Series. 

[Brandon27]

I got three words SELL THE TEAM 

[Otaknam]

Straight and to the point on this fiasco ownership. I won’t be surprised if they complete the implosion of the roster by trading Buxton, Ryan, and Lopez. Buxton would be smart to ask for a trade this offseason so he can compete for a long playoff run, which isn’t happening here anytime soon. His value is pretty high, given his excellent season and contract status. They might have to wait on trading Lopez and his contract until next season so he can demonstrate that he is healthy. Ryan is likely gone this offseason if they get the package they want, which should include a couple high end major league ready prospects  if the FO can do a competent trade, not a given. 

[jmlease1]

I would say that Joe Pohlad had absolutely no clue that he has zero credibility with Twins fans.

It's possible that "short-term pain" is just a reference to the fire sale of 2025 and how this team fell apart the last couple of seasons. But why should any Twins fan believe that?

It's much more likely that it refers to further payroll cuts for 2026 and losing more veteran players like Lopez, Ryan, and/or Jeffers. They've given us no reason to believe otherwise, and seem to think we should all just be happy sheep, grateful that the Pohlads allow us to have a team to watch at all.

That comes out meaner that maybe intended; as absurdly rich people the current generations of the Pohald family don't seem like bad people...but they're staggeringly tone-deaf, out of touch, and quite poor at running a professional baseball team.

Joe Pohlad seems to think that a few public statements, a friendly interview or two, and firing the manager is all it will take to bring fans around. Joe Pohlad, once again, is very very wrong.

[LewFordLives]

I get it. The Twins are not a major market and can't keep spending like they have the last few years. Therefore, they need to make smarter personnel and development decisions. Do I believe Falvey is the right person to be making those decisions?; NO!

[LeatherAntenna]

11 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I would say that Joe Pohlad had absolutely no clue that he has zero credibility with Twins fans.

It's possible that "short-term pain" is just a reference to the fire sale of 2025 and how this team fell apart the last couple of seasons. But why should any Twins fan believe that?

It's much more likely that it refers to further payroll cuts for 2026 and losing more veteran players like Lopez, Ryan, and/or Jeffers. They've given us no reason to believe otherwise, and seem to think we should all just be happy sheep, grateful that the Pohlads allow us to have a team to watch at all.

That comes out meaner that maybe intended; as absurdly rich people the current generations of the Pohald family don't seem like bad people...but they're staggeringly tone-deaf, out of touch, and quite poor at running a professional baseball team.

Joe Pohlad seems to think that a few public statements, a friendly interview or two, and firing the manager is all it will take to bring fans around. Joe Pohlad, once again, is very very wrong.

I wonder on a Buxton trade.  As pleasant as it was to see his game excel this year, his career body of work is more injury derailment than a year like 2025.  Indeed injury free, he is an incredible player.  But that other Buxton…..

 

Should he get traded, I would cheer for against other teams.

[rv78]

Laughable. It's not hard to see why they try to keep him away from doing interviews. If he thinks fans are going to continue to show up at Target Field on game day to watch the crap his FO has built, he is the one in for some real short-term pain. That 1.7 million attendance in 2025 will look pretty large compared to what 2026 will be.

[ziggy]

Correa and Buxton said all the right things to the media for fan support. If they had said "I want outta here asap" fans would have turned on them. Remind me who is Correas agent?

Buxton can be traded, on his terms. Atlanta for sure, but perhaps to Philly or New York if a new contract is involved. 

Honestly I'd rather hear there is going to be short term pain than "we are going to win next year with Micky Gasper as our primary catcher" and starting 3 left handed hitting outfielders who all underperformed this year.

Anyone else think Joe is going to go into politics?

[In My La Z boy]

Going on 34 years of short term pain since 1991 

Seems like long term pain, but I am much older than young grandson Pohlad. Was he alive in 1991?


 

[rv78]

12 minutes ago, In My La Z boy said:

Going on 34 years of short term pain since 1991 

Seems like long term pain, but I am much older than young grandson Pohlad. Was he alive in 1991?


 

Don't know if he was alive then but he is brain dead now.

[nicksaviking]

The Strib article is behind paywall. Did the reporter doing the interview really not clarify with Joe if he meant the short term pain was last year's sell off, or if the short term pain was upcoming this off season?

Because the 'try something different' and 'you got to own it' lines that follow sound like a reference to this past summer's sell off, implying that roster wasn't working and they needed to start over.

This article makes it sound the other way around, and the worst is yet to come, which could be the case, but is there more dialogue in the Strib article to confirm that's what Joe was referring to?

[The Great Hambino]

How can someone with a marketing background have such a hard time delivering a coherent message to his customers?  To lack even a basic understanding of what they think and what they want?

The comments about 2023's excitement coming from a team with baseball's 11th-best record should illustrate that the bar really isn't that high.  It doesn't take that much to make us happy.   This shouldn't be that difficult. 

[tony&rodney]

The Twins are a mess. This is not in dispute. The real curiosity is how the person who designed and was responsible for the latest "Total System Failure" manages to get another go at putting together a roster. However, these are things well beyond the control of fans which makes it all the more infuriating.

The Pohlads are who they are and protests will all be in vain. I protested Carl Pohlad buying the team in 1984 because I favored others. What's done is done and any sale may be years away. The debt we hear about is just corporate talk unless the books are opened for an independent accountant to verify. Why would a private company allow that? That too is in the past.

The Twins have just finished a 9 year stretch where their payrolls eclipsed their ALC competitors and vastly exceeded their neighbors in Milwaukee. We should not expect a similar trend in the 2026-2035 timeframe. The fate of the team's fortunes will depend on Falvey changing his views on baseball.

Lastly, it seems impossible that either  Pablo Lopez or Joe Ryan would be around much longer. Ryan may have big value. We cannot know how other team view his future. If you had a young team in need of another top starting pitcher would you trade your top prospect for Ryan? Flip it - If the Twins needed Tarik Skubal to win, is Walker Jenkins alone or even plus another player too high a price? More or less, the Twins need to find out if Ryan and all others have values to bring future value to the roster. 2026 is going to be tough. It might as well be be with guys who have a future. 

No matter, we are left being fans of a troubled franchise.

[darwin22]

I also got 3 words for Joe Pohlad:  Attitude reflects leadership.

[LeatherAntenna]

45 minutes ago, In My La Z boy said:

Going on 34 years of short term pain since 1991 

Seems like long term pain, but I am much older than young grandson Pohlad. Was he alive in 1991?


 

Mostly agree with this comment, except 2006 was a very exciting regular season.  2006 playoffs not so much.

[old nurse]

Joe Pohlad and Jim Pohlad are two different people. Sometimes it seems like people can’t figure that out.  Any friction they have on how the team is run they are going to keep it fairly quiet. That he says sometimes you have to try something different reflects that. In the media where people take that comment and turn it is why they play it pretty close to the vest.  

The problem Joe has is that he doesn’t have that much control. Jim still controls the money. Falvey is Jim’s boy.  The managerial hire will show if Joe can change the direction.  The team is always going to be dependent on development of players. If there are new ideas put in place on players drafted as position players it will take time, hence the pain. I would think that anyone who has followed baseball would understand that. Nick has proved me wrong. 

[old nurse]

28 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

How can someone with a marketing background have such a hard time delivering a coherent message to his customers?  To lack even a basic understanding of what they think and what they want?

The comments about 2023's excitement coming from a team with baseball's 11th-best record should illustrate that the bar really isn't that high.  It doesn't take that much to make us happy.   This shouldn't be that difficult. 

Talking to people who think they know all is a very difficult thing to do. Very few people master it 

[jimbo92107]

I wouldn't mind seeing  Byron Buxton win a ring in Dodger blue. It sure ain't happening here. 

[Coach Wheels]

The day this fall that the Pholads announcing the Twins were not for sale, I prayed it was April 1st and I'd slept through the winter. Next year, I hope attendance is less than 1 million.

[nicksaviking]

39 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

How can someone with a marketing background have such a hard time delivering a coherent message to his customers?  To lack even a basic understanding of what they think and what they want?

The comments about 2023's excitement coming from a team with baseball's 11th-best record should illustrate that the bar really isn't that high.  It doesn't take that much to make us happy.   This shouldn't be that difficult. 

I don't think it's terribly difficult for the grandson of a billionaire to get a degree, regardless of his competency in the course work.

We're all probably being selfish, we should be thankful he wanted to run a baseball team. He could have wanted to be a brain surgeon or commercial airline pilot instead.

[David Maro]

Fans won't pay major league prices for a minor league team. As of now no one knows what this team will look like 3 months from now. They have a number of players on the roster who either will want to leave or will be traded. With the team in flux who would want to come in as manager. This is what happens when you have people in charge who run a business into the ground. It's time to sell and give new ownership the opportunity to get this turned around.

[mikelink45]

What isn't working is the ownership of the Pohlads. 

I know we can't spend like the dodgers and the Yankees, but when I look at the Brewers and the guardians and some of the other low budget teams I see more hope than what this team has given us. We have sacrificed so much quality constantly saying the new prospects will raise the bar and I am 80 so waiting for the next championship is not looking very promising.  

[The Great Hambino]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

The Strib article is behind paywall. Did the reporter doing the interview really not clarify with Joe if he meant the short term pain was last year's sell off, or if the short term pain was upcoming this off season?

No follow-up on that in the article.  The author was more interested in Joe playing Goldeneye on N64 and starring in Breck's production of "West Side Story"

The overall goal of it seemed to be to paint him as not your typical spoiled billionaire heir - that he's humble and worked for the position he has.  Which is a little strange, considering it also describes him as "adrift and unemployed" after a few jobs didn't work out coming out of college and includes passages like: "For a spell he led the Twins' flagship radio station; the family later sold that media company at a steep loss."

So he's a nice enough guy and seems well-liked by his friends, but would more likely be managing a Gamestop than running a billion-dollar company if his last name wasn't Pohlad

 

 

[terrydactyls]

29 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I don't think it's terribly difficult for the grandson of a billionaire to get a degree, regardless of his competency in the course work.

We're all probably being selfish, we should be thankful he wanted to run a baseball team. He could have wanted to be a brain surgeon or commercial airline pilot instead.

Or president!

[Nshore]

Somebody should get the architects of the World Series years to talk to Joe Pohlad about the secret - never duplicated - formula.   Maybe Tom Kelly, Andy MacPhail and Jim Rantz can talk some sense into him.

[Nashvilletwin]

Don’t misunderstand me - I am no apologist for the Pohlads or how the Twinds found themselves in this current predicament. The poor leadership and mismanagement of strategy have been epic.

However, given where things are today (i.e. abysmal results on the field way below expectations, significant annual losses on a cash basis, drastically falling TV revenue, an inability to develop demonstrable prospect talent, and little interest from buyers of the franchise at an “attractive” price) and where things are clearly headed (no chance to win in ‘26 with the pre or post trade deadline personnel, a long lockout in ‘27 ending with a salary cap/floor model, a new, more lucrative long term TV deal, significantly  increased franchise values for small/mid market teams, and a host of young talent that could be developed by the right baseball leaders into a new young cheap core), the Nephew’s new strategy is, sadly to many, the correct one. It’s exactly the strategy, if replacing Falvey is part of it, that I’d implement if I were looking to build franchise value to sell in 2028.

[LewFordLives]

I get that people are upset with the Pohlads and Falvey (I am too), but I don't understand those who say we should boycott the team and not attend games. How does that help anything?  Baseball is supposed to be fun. It will be a young team in transition next year. Embrace it for what it is. Win Twins!