Twins Ownership Transition Goes from Quiet Money Move to Extremely Minnesotan Palace Intrigue

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins still belong to the Pohlad family, but things are about to be very different than they've been in the past. It's much too soon to guess whether the changes will be for good or ill, but the fact that something big has changed was clear Wednesday afternoon at Target Field. Henceforth, the day-to-day operations of the team will pass from Joe Pohlad to his brother Tom, and once he's approved by MLB (likely to happen in February, Pohlad said), he will also become the official control person for the team, taking over from the brothers' uncle, Jim. 

This is a major consolidation of power. As Tom outlined on Wednesday, for much of the last few years, there have been three Pohlads with major roles within the team: Joe, Jim, and himself. (Tom entered the picture mostly as the person in charge of the hoped-for transaction, when the family decided to sell the team 14 months ago.) Going forward, there will be just one.

"Yes," Pohlad said, when asked if he would be the only family member involved with the club. "I mean other than the advisory board, the family members that will sit on that, yes."

In other words, Joe Pohlad is entirely moving out of the picture. Tom set the tone of the press conference held in the home clubhouse Wednesday with his opening statement, by characterizing the occasion as “in many ways an exciting day for this organization and for myself and for my family, and in many ways, an emotionally difficult day". Tom's control of the team comes after a month-long, family-wide deliberation the new owner repeatedly described as "difficult" and even painful. Was Joe on board with the transition, when the subject was first broached?

"Joe was not on board with this at first. And he’s on board now," Tom said, when directly asked as much. "He understands. But, listen, I’ll go back to what I said at the beginning. He was the leader of this organization, he’s been here for 19 years. And as difficult as this is for me to say, all he’s ever wanted was to be a part of this organization and to lead it and to help this franchise win a world championship. Things change. We had to make a decision as a family. He understands."

In short, the Pohlads felt they were failing in their stewardship of the franchise, and Joe Pohlad was identified as at least part of the reason. As Tom spoke, it became clear that the timing of this ownership transition being finalized and the leadership of the franchise passing from one brother to the other was not a coincidence.

"This decision to make a transition within our family has been extremely difficult. It’s been hard on the relationship between Joe and myself," he said. "It’s been especially hard on my dad and my two uncles, and this is not the type of thing that we envisioned as we started to go from one generation to the next and continue on our family business and continue on the stewardship of the Twins. But ultimately it was what we think was in the best interest of this organization, of our fan base, and of our new partners."

We've seen recent cases of other MLB clubs erupting into internecine warfare during transitions like these. The Padres are mired in a squabble between family members right now. The Dodgers went through an even uglier version of that under their previous owners, Frank and Jamie McCourt. Smaller but more public and more obviously raw rows have broken out in several ownership suites throughout the league, where family and generational ownership is common but family members with diverging interests is equally so. The family has successfully presented a quiet, fairly stoic picture of this change in direction, but Pohlad's words and tone Wednesday gave away the game: he is the winner of a Minnesota Nice spin on 'Succession'. Though the same surname is on the ownership group, this is not a cash transaction just to bail the family out of trouble. It's a wholesale change of organizational control. And there are hurt feelings behind it.

The family's control of the ownership advisory board will be diluted, as new partners Craig Leipold, George Hicks and the Glick family each gain representation there. That doesn't mean that those parties will take any meaningful measure of control over the team, and Tom Pohlad said Wednesday that none of those involved were interested in a controlling stake. Clearly, though, their investments were contingent on some changes that would help the team do what they believe it can do in the future: make more money.

"They believe there is an opportunity to improve the business of the Minnesota Twins," Pohlad said, in characterizing the interest each of their new partners had. "That there is revenue opportunities to grow revenue here, and that comes from reengaging our fans and winning more baseball games."

It's clear that some members of the family felt Joe and the rest of the leadership group then in place squandered opportunities for the club to be healthier and more profitable. Tom intends an activist and much more change-oriented approach to his new role than what the family has traditionally taken.

"My role, I think I'm going to play, if the question is, 'Are you going to be a passive owner or an active owner?' I'd say that I'm going to be an active owner," he said. "I'd say that's what this organization needs right now."

Now, get ready for something you've really never heard from the Pohlads before.

"We’ve got to figure out what’s keeping us from having more consistent success than we’ve had in the past," Tom said, "and I think the rub, if you will, on the organization, historically speaking, is there’s a feeling which I might share that we continue to run the same playbook over and over, thinking for a different result. The accountability factor is saying, if something doesn’t go right, if we don’t meet expectations, what are we going to do differently and then go out and do something differently.”

The nephew of Jim and grandson of Carl pretty plainly disagrees with the way they've run the franchise for almost half a century. No team in baseball undertakes leadership transitions less often than the Twins. Even mid-level jobs there have traditionally had far, far more security than anywhere else in baseball. By the sound of things, that era is over.

"Half-measures are not good, and you’ll probably get to know me over time: I’m not a half-measure guy," Pohlad said. "I’m a ‘go big or go home’ guy."

Having elbowed his own brother out of the way in a fairly muscular takeover of his own family's flagship business, Pohlad might now find it harder to go home. He's stepping away from all other roles within the family business to focus on this one. He's going big. That might not translate into enough spending for many fans' taste, and it might backfire on Tom Pohlad and all his relations. For those who feared that the would-be sale of the team had come to nothing but a procedural move and some debt relief, though, Wednesday sent a clear message: This is something bigger.

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[Mike Sixel]

Half-measures are not good, and you’ll probably get to know me over time: I’m not a half-measure guy," Pohlad said. "I’m a ‘go big or go home’ guy."

This part? I mean, they are literally doing that this coming year, most likely. 

It isn't working, but the plan is to keep the GM and the same players? Ummmmmm?

[jkcarew]

A step in the right direction. One. Joe had to go. The rest is just words. Good words, but words. And a pretty long march remains to get to actual relevance and accountability. We’ll see.

[The Great Hambino]

So it seems like the difference between Joe and Tom is that when Tom insults our intelligence, he'll do so more directly.  I guess that's technically progress

[CRF]

Ok Tom...you're up. Are you gonna stand there, take three pitches right down broadway, and whiff like Joe and Jim did? Or are you gonna stand behind those words and actually do something?

[LastOnePicked]

"We’ve got to figure out what’s keeping us from having more consistent success than we’ve had in the past," Tom said, "and I think the rub, if you will, on the organization, historically speaking, is there’s a feeling which I might share that we continue to run the same playbook over and over, thinking for a different result. The accountability factor is saying, if something doesn’t go right, if we don’t meet expectations, what are we going to do differently and then go out and do something differently.”

Tom, I'm sure you're not reading this, but on the off-chance you're having an employee dig through the plebeian fan sites for fan reactions, here's this:

Since Target Field opened - the great promise of the future of Twins baseball - this is one of the worst five organizations in all of baseball. Terrible overall record, terrible postseason record, terrible track record with player health and prospect performance. Terrible.

Don't just own the team; own the failure. Understand it and change it. You won't get a dime from the vast majority of former fans until you do. Don't pretend you understand it. Don't paper it over with fancy talk about Twins "legacy." Hire people who understand it. make it clear that results matter. Winning is a decision, it's a choice. A series of choices. Make those choices. Hire the people who can make those choices.

Start now.

[DocBauer]

I like this move on the surface at least. We've all become jaded by how the Pohlads run the Twins. But I would say this is definitely the biggest change since Carl bought the team in the 80's. There are new partners that are going to want some return on their investment. That's good. That puts pressure on the Pohlads to do things better. And maybe they bring in some ideas of their own.

I feel a little bad for Joe as I believe he really did want to be partner running the Twins. But I don't think he did very well, and he certainly embarrassed himself a few times with various comments made. As @jkcarewsstated, Tom spoke good words. But they are only words until we see action.

Despite what I believe to be a worthwhile jaded attitude towards ownership, I think, as fans, we should feel at least a little encouraged by what Tom said. It at least appears he understands and recognizes changes have to be made, and there has to be an accountability factor.

Personally, I'm willing to give him and this new reorganization a chance, even if I remain skeptical. And change doesn't happen overnight. And until the impending labor situation is settled come 2027, I don't know that we will necessarily recognize immediate changes. There's a lot to unpack over the next 24 months.

There will be changes at the MLB level, hopefully positive ones. The new partners are going to have at least some say with this new direction. The debt will now be eliminated, or at least lowered greatly. And Tom has basically said the Twins haven't been run well. 

Again, all positive sentiments. I don't think anyone ever expects the Twins to function as a top payroll organization. But not being in the bottom third of MLB in payroll should be an obtainable goal in the future. And based on his statements, I'm betting Falvey, and perhaps Zoll, are going to be feeling some heat in the near future. 

The reorganization has begun. Change can be good, and was much needed. Now it's time over the next 24 months or so to see those changes actually take place. 

[Parfigliano]

Accountability.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out in Twins Territory.

[mikelink45]

It is about time change happened - is this the right change?  At least they have now bought some more fan time as we wait and see.

[Vanimal46]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Half-measures are not good, and you’ll probably get to know me over time: I’m not a half-measure guy," Pohlad said. "I’m a ‘go big or go home’ guy."

This part? I mean, they are literally doing that this coming year, most likely. 

It isn't working, but the plan is to keep the GM and the same players? Ummmmmm?

The author also didn't include the full quote where Tom Pohlad immediately contradicts himself. Who knows why. Carrying the water for the Pohlads? 

[Vanimal46]

11 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

It is about time change happened - is this the right change?  At least they have now bought some more fan time as we wait and see.

What change? Tom has the same last name, and will have to answer to the rest of the family. It's literally the same as it always was. 

I'm willing to bet the minority groups had the request to remove Joe from the public facing role because he said stupid sh** at the worst possible times. 

[tony&rodney]

Until Derek Falvey is removed from all baseball-related decisions, nothing will change. 10 years is enough. Great guy who may serve the franchise well, running the numbers side. He cannot be left on the baseball side of the ledger. That has been tried already.

[DocBauer]

Wow! Just read a quote from Tom Pohlad stating they basically BLEW IT after the successful 2023 season. 

I can see more and more the division  within the family of Joe being pushed out, unless he's the fall guy, unnamed, for massive mistakes ownership has made.

Is this ownership speak? Or is this honesty for the first time?

[DocBauer]

"We’re in the business of winning baseball games," Pohlad said. "We’re not in the business of making money to put money in our pockets. Every dollar that we make should be put back on the field, in stewardship of this team and in an effort to win a world championship."-- Tom Pohlad 

[LastOnePicked]

8 hours ago, DocBauer said:

"We’re in the business of winning baseball games," Pohlad said. "We’re not in the business of making money to put money in our pockets. Every dollar that we make should be put back on the field, in stewardship of this team and in an effort to win a world championship."-- Tom Pohlad 

I think this is the same guy who sold me the Brooklyn Bridge when I was in NY.

Don't applaud this too quickly. As an owner, this is something you do, not something you talk about. Fans have to see it to believe it.

And I'll concede this: they're in a bit of a tough spot. There's no contention window right now, and the 2027 season is very uncertain. Now is an okay time for low payrolls, just so long as they make investments into infrastructure and coaching. 

All the more reason to trade what value you have, right now.

 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I’m not expecting miracles, but this might indicate at least a little bit of potential for movement.  Maybe Tom is the guy that has been screaming at family board meetings to do something.  Maybe he’s not and is just acting this way.  We can’t actually I know.  I, however, am willing to give him a.chance to do some good work.  Right now that’s all we can hang our hat on.  Let’s see what happens.  The leadership of the past two years was mighty poor, so the bar is low. 

In that realm, I’m willing to let change happen relatively slowly as long as there appears to be a positive direction.  There will always be corporate speak in every organization. We all know that.   I just hope that it doesn’t run things around here.  

[Ex-Iowegian]

I’ll believe it when I see it.

Merry Christmas, y’all.

[Jeff K]

12 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I like this move on the surface at least. We've all become jaded by how the Pohlads run the Twins. But I would say this is definitely the biggest change since Carl bought the team in the 80's. There are new partners that are going to want some return on their investment. That's good. That puts pressure on the Pohlads to do things better. And maybe they bring in some ideas of their own.

I feel a little bad for Joe as I believe he really did want to be partner running the Twins. But I don't think he did very well, and he certainly embarrassed himself a few times with various comments made. As @jkcarewsstated, Tom spoke good words. But they are only words until we see action.

Despite what I believe to be a worthwhile jaded attitude towards ownership, I think, as fans, we should feel at least a little encouraged by what Tom said. It at least appears he understands and recognizes changes have to be made, and there has to be an accountability factor.

Personally, I'm willing to give him and this new reorganization a chance, even if I remain skeptical. And change doesn't happen overnight. And until the impending labor situation is settled come 2027, I don't know that we will necessarily recognize immediate changes. There's a lot to unpack over the next 24 months.

There will be changes at the MLB level, hopefully positive ones. The new partners are going to have at least some say with this new direction. The debt will now be eliminated, or at least lowered greatly. And Tom has basically said the Twins haven't been run well. 

Again, all positive sentiments. I don't think anyone ever expects the Twins to function as a top payroll organization. But not being in the bottom third of MLB in payroll should be an obtainable goal in the future. And based on his statements, I'm betting Falvey, and perhaps Zoll, are going to be feeling some heat in the near future. 

The reorganization has begun. Change can be good, and was much needed. Now it's time over the next 24 months or so to see those changes actually take place. 

DocBauer, you certainly stated what I've been thinking since reading about the announcement.  This was a pretty big change and I would not be surprised if it was more than internal Pohlad politics that made the change.  If Tom Pohlad was the primary guy around the sale/iinvestors, those same investors may well have demanded this change.  And I think it unlikely this is the only change that they are demanding.  It would not surprise me at all if Falvey is now on the hot seat...if he stays at all.  I am appreciative that Tom Pohlad specifically called out the ridiculous, tone deaf, communications from our recent past.  The right sizing comment was, and remains, an unforgivable statement.

[Nashvilletwin]

1. The Pohlads are basically no different than any other extremely wealthy family trying to navigate running their businesses post the death of the patriarch.  They actually have done better than most as they essentially made it to the grandchildren generation before things really got ugly. Palace intrigue? Meh. Standard operating procedure.

2. The investors invested because of Tom taking the helm. They were never going to invest with Joe running the show.  It’s very possible that Tom actually personally recruited these investors after earlier efforts with them or others failed with Joe leading the charge.

3. All the quotes are great.  Really great.  Let me reiterate:  Really, really great.  But they mean absolutely nothing without action. Zippo.  It could be the Bell signing and the Shelton hiring were done before Tough Talking Tom (new nickname until change is apparent) was in charge. However, those moves, coupled with no trades of our valuable but eroding assets, indicate that there is no altering yet of the strategy that the original Nephew led.

4. Falvey has to go.  Period. If Tough Talking Tom wants to both prove he’s not full of baloney as well as put the franchise on a new path, that has to be the one move he makes.  Until that happens, Tough Talking Tom is just The Nephew Part Deux.

5. Tom in charge also sounds a lot better when the Twins’ views in the lockout negotiations commence.  Better to have Tom in the corner with the other small/mid market revenue owners.

6. Building toward developing a true contender post the lockout feels way more likely this morning.

7. Go get ‘em Tough Talking Tom - make some decisive, major moves so you can lose the moniker and we can call you Tom or, better yet, Tom the Deliverer.  The future looks much brighter this morning. 

[DJL44]

I looked up Tom. He was running PaR systems in Shoreview. Are there any current or former employees who have opinions on his leadership?

[LewFordLives]

There's clearly a lot of confusion within ownership and the front office. They went big with Correa, and then backtracked a few years later. Did they completely miss on TV revenue projections?  Were they expecting attendance to bounce back?    

Now all of the sudden they have money to spend again (relatively speaking).  Would they have traded Duran if the front office had more insight into the potential budget?  Based on the timing of how things went down last summer, ownership clearly knew that new minority partners were coming on board to help with the debt situation before the trade deadline.  None of it makes any sense.

[thelanges5]

A lot of positive quotes and a lot of head scratching quotes. Tom is better than Joe at public speaking. Actions speak louder than words so I guess we have no choice but to wait and see?

[David HK]

Any time a pohlad leaves the Twins FO it's a good day.  But replacing him with another pohlad?  It's like crapping your pants on a cold day, and thinking, 'Well, at least it's warm.' 

Re: "Joe was not on board with this at first."  Good.  I hope he squealed like a scalded dog on the way out.  I hope his feelings were deeply hurt and the embarrassment goes all the way down to his core.  His Norm Green-level "stewardship" killed any good will any of us felt in '23, which was the first time in decades we were allowed to have any of it at all.

So now older bro is bailing him out.  I won't be chowing down any of his word salad any more than what his incompetent little bro spewed until I see concrete results.  And if they think Josh Bell is any kind of carrot, that's a big nope.

 

[tony&rodney]

I would say Tom Pohlad has about a month, at most, to initiate change. The failure to initiate change would be a clear signal that there has been almost a complete lack of attention given to the baseball operations department and display a lack of consideration for the fan base. No change would signify that Tom Pohlad is not a serious person. I'm willing to give him the benefit of doubt, for about another month. 

 

[Rufus]

Remember who the high bidder was when the Pohlads bought the Twins?  It was a New York real estate guy that declared bankruptcy several times,  bankrupted casinos in Atlantic City and was famous for not paying his bills... Thankfully Calvin saw through him and went with the local guy.  The Pohlads have had and have their faults, but they kept the Twins here and I for one have some real Twins memories over the last 40 some years.  Oh by the way that other guys name was Trump

[Fatbat]

Just gonna sit back and watch how this all plays out. 

[Cris E]

It does kind of make sense.

Joe was the old school, invest 57% of revenue, nice guys finish third, Twins organization dating back 40 years. He threw some cash in when a playoff run was all but guaranteed in 2023, rolled it back as soon as the World Series did not materialize, and assumes no one knows who is running things and will forgive all. 

Falvey had a budget that he spent pretty aggressively, got told the money would be there as long as he won, was probably shocked to find out what constituted winning and that he hadn't won enough in 2023 to keep his budget. So he falls back, digs in along the new budget line and gets excoriated for it. 

Then a team sale fell apart due to loads of debt and a huge vacuum where MLB's plans for post-RSN revenue streams was supposed to be. Ownership went into a silent conclave and all management was told was "we'll see what we have in 26, weather the lockout in 27, and go for it in 28" which was enough to hire Shelton and put us where we are today.

The only piece that doesn't easily fit was the culpability for the fire sale decision.  If there was never going to be any money until after the new CBA then it was probably Joe's call under the Falvey advice that they couldn't win with the hand they have so throw it all in and start over. The huge collapse in fan support was probably a large part of what got things hot in the boardroom and drew out the fratricide. Tom's crew probably felt they didn't need to go that far back with just some investment and gumption. 

What comes next is filling in some of this history, actually announcing some sort of budget, maybe extending someone to show earnestness, and then hunkering down until summer. As someone mentioned above, it's a bad time to prove your mettle: right after most mid-range free agents have been signed, right after a manager hire, months before the season starts. Plus there's no indication that the TV revenue situation has a solution. I guess some CBA saber rattling is a place to show activity, maybe show that they want to follow the San Diego model of merely hoping to keep the team self-sufficient rather than a lucrative holding. Good luck buys. Hope Christmas is merrier than this article hints at. 

[jmlease1]

There's several things that are of interest, both in Joe Pohlad being shown the door (which will 100% be a source of conflict in the family and I'm sure that will linger) and Jim finally stepping aside as the official controller. The latter is very interesting to me, since they didn't take this step when they put Joe out front and center.

Will it make any difference? We won't know until we start seeing some actions...and sadly some of those probably won't happen as quickly as we'd like. Falvey probably isn't going to get canned in December, but I'd be shocked if his seat hasn't gotten quite a bit hotter.

We'll see if Tom (along with the minority partners) actually changes anything. Frankly, they need a massive overhaul in their business practices, because they've utterly mismanaged things over at least the past 15 years. And we're not likely to see how that changes immediately unless they announce a lot of staff firings (and hires). But right now the Twins are arguably 5th in popularity among pro franchises in MN and have been declining. That has to get addressed as much as the on-field product.

[nicksaviking]

From the minute Joe was put in charge it was clear the family wasn't taking the Twins seriously. I do like this level of frankness. Not saying I trust it, but it is appealing.

We've been posting for years that this family is absolutely bungling not just the on field stuff, but the off field stuff as well. Their brand of quaint, folksy marketing was stale two decades ago. They target older-middle aged, out-state fans who think they'll be murdered if they step foot in Minneapolis instead of the upper middle class hipsters who live in the most densely populated area of the state that happens to be right outside Gate A. They let an unqualified lawyer who's only ever employer was the Twins negotiate FOUR terrible TV deals. They carelessly pawned off other family business debt on to the baseball team. All of these things screamed that the Twins were not an investment they were very invested in.

Now they wanted to flip the team and find out that upkeep on the property they wanted to sell actually matters? It is possible that the investors, who are almost certainly better business minds than the still living Pohlad family members, pointed out how much money they are leaving on the table with their laissez faire attitude towards the team, and that yes, there is a strong correlation between winning games and profiting.

We'll see. I doubt they publicly make this move to Tom when the end goal is to still sell the team without us seeing some noticeable changes, good or bad.

[old nurse]

The front office staff should be worried. Falvey said that when he got there the front office was lean.   Look for a return to that. If Falvey can’t do that someone else can. The top had a GM and an assistant GM. Now there are 5 people doing the same job. The sales department is. Huge, the attendance is not.  A leaner team might be worth a decent RP

What went wrong?  The answer is in part 2fold. The draft did not produce for years. Players who were unlikely to maintain a high level were not sold high.