Tom Pohlad is Saying a Lot, and None of It Lines Up

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Tom Pohlad has talked more openly about the Minnesota Twins in recent months than, perhaps, any member of the Pohlad family ever has. The problem is not a lack of transparency. It's that the transparency points in several different directions at once.

Taken individually, each quote sounds thoughtful. Put together, they paint a picture of an organization apologizing for the past, promising competitiveness in the future, and asking fans to ignore the present. That's a difficult sell when the current reality is a payroll just north of $100 million; the departure of the team’s top baseball executive; and a fan base that feels more deflated than it did during the very period Pohlad admits was mishandled.

Speaking about the decisions made following the 2023 season, Pohlad didn't mince words.

“We made what we thought at the time was a responsible financial decision, and we obviously failed to consider the long-term impact of that decision, and the short-term impact of that decision, frankly,” he said. “We sucked the air right out of our fan base, and it did significant damage to our brand and to our family from a confidence standpoint. Plain and simple, we got it wrong.”

That is an extraordinary admission for a Twins owner. It also lands awkwardly when paired with the state of the team today. Payroll is lower now than it was then. Confidence is not restored. If anything, the air feels even thinner.

Pohlad has repeatedly pointed to 2026 as a pivotal season, framing it as both a goal and a justification for the current approach.

“We will be competitive in 2026,” Pohlad replied. “Yes. I expect that. But the sense of urgency is about making sure that we start, right this second, getting after what the long-term plan is for this organization. And I’ve talked a lot recently about finding a way to build a business that can support a level of investment in the team, two or three years from now, that can be playing competitive baseball for a string of seasons in a row. That’s what we’re trying to build. And I think 2026 is critical to that success.”

There is logic in building toward sustained competitiveness, rather than chasing short bursts of performance. The issue is that the Twins are asking fans and employees alike to buy into a long-term vision, while simultaneously scaling back in the short term. That tension became impossible to ignore when Derek Falvey stepped away from the organization. Whatever else his departure represented, it signaled that the internal understanding of competitiveness did not match the public one.

Pohlad has also tried to shift the conversation away from payroll, urging observers to focus instead on results.

“Yes, our payroll is down from last year,” he said. “I think there’s still investments to be made between now and Opening Day. And I’d also say that, at some point, I’d love to get off this ‘payroll’ thing for a second and let’s get halfway through the year, to the end of the year, and let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September. And if we’re doing that, I think we’re gonna be in position to grow payroll the following year, and the following year. That’s what I hope we can start focusing on.”

In theory, judging a season on wins and losses makes perfect sense. In practice, payroll remains the clearest signal of intent in modern baseball. Asking fans to ignore that signal requires trust, and trust is hard to rebuild after publicly acknowledging that it was broken.

Now look at the roster construction. Few experienced and healthy free agent relief options remain. Teams rarely make significant trades during spring training, even if it is not impossible. That leaves the Twins (probably) relying on young starting pitchers to transition into bullpen roles, a process that often takes time and rarely goes smoothly.

None of this means Tom Pohlad is being dishonest. It means he's speaking from multiple timelines at once. He's apologizing for past restraint while practicing present restraint. He's promising future competitiveness while overseeing the Twins' lowest payroll in over a decade. He is asking for urgency while preaching patience.

Fans are not confused because they're ignoring what he is saying. They're confused because they're listening to it all. Pohlad needs to fix that, and changing actions (rather than words) seems the only way to do so.

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What do you make of Pohlad’s comments? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[mikelink45]

I feel sorry for all you writers who have to figure out the team you are covering and what to write about.  But keep going, the TD subscribers will be there right with you.  

I am wondering how the division reacts to the Valdez signing by Detroit - I have not seen a big shakeup in the division that correlates to this since we signed Correa.  With Correa we learned that the other teams were right, we were not getting the superstar the salary said we should.  Framber has questions too or he would not have lasted this long.  Will he be the better bargain and will Tom be forced to respond?

[rdehring]

Another day, another article by you Cody bashing the Twins. 

Personally, I cannot tell you how tired I am of this.  As I read today's post I kept thinking, why do they even play the games.  The Dodgers will have the biggest payroll this year, by far.  Why not just give them whatever trophy it is for winning the World Series.  Why bother playing the season?  When we play the Dodgers, if on the road the Twins should just save their travel expenses and give the guys three extra days off because the games are lost.  Right?

Yes, what I just wrote is ridiculous.  But what else can we take from article after article saying the only thing that matters is payroll.  I understand the Twins have some problems that need fixing, maybe more than some.  But nearly all of these moves were under Falvey's watch and now it seems you are criticizing Tom Pohlad for moving on from him.   

Also have a question.  You guys also have a site that deals with the Brewers.  Are you bashing them for the level of their payroll?  It was less than the Twins last year.  Is it again this year?  Just wondering, considering that they had the most wins in baseball last year.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Well said. This inconsistency between the messaging and action is the thing that it most harming the Twins brand and credibility with the fan base, i.e., it's customers. One would assume that Tom Pohlad understands that as an experienced business person.  What is incomprehensible to me is that there does not appear to be any effort to square the team's actions with its expressed intent or to provide any sort of long or even medium term vision to explain how the team plans to achieve the expressed goal of year-to-year competitiveness. Most of this is Business 101 so it's a little hard to understand why we are where we are. As result most fans are going to the negative conclusion that there really isn't going to be an effort to achieve year-to-year competitiveness if that effort requires spending money, which it clearly does, and that management's statements are all simply business platitudes designed to get people to buy tickets.

There's an easy solution – make a plan, tell people what it is, and stick to it. If that plan is simply to tear down the existing team and start over with a rebuild, so be it. If the plan is to keep the existing core, augment that core in some way, and try to be competitive in a short term, that could also work. Just explain how the team plans to go forward. If the plan is to simply bring back what we already have and hope for a better result, just explain why you think that better result is likely. The absence of any of these things actually being said is not only killing interest in the team, it is likely killing the effort of the players themselves. As someone who played on a number of teams in high school and college, there's nothing worse than playing on a team that has no underlying belief in its own ability to compete. Yet that appears to be what the Twins are creating here.

[bean5302]

Here's what I make of the comments. Tom wants to improve attendance and he thinks the team being competitive will do that (as a prior season ticket holder, I will say it will not). The only thing which will make a difference in attendance is leading the division decisively throughout the entire year, IMHO, and the Twins are serious underdogs vs. the Tigers at this point.

One of my biggest problems with the Pohlads is they cater to the wrong markets because they arrogantly think they understand the fan base despite having every metric and indicator they do not.

Want to put butts in the seats?
Good giveaways, and enough of them so everybody has a chance to get one.
Focus on fan experience INSIDE the ball park. The surveys the Twins have sent out always focus on the parking/transit, safety around the park, entry into the game. Never on the quality of the experience DURING THE GAME.
Focus on increasing the desirability of attending Twins games for people who do have disposable income now or in the near future. Stop concentrating on making 4yr olds happy. Great, glad you feel good about yourself, but 4yr olds have zero dollars today and zero dollars for another 15 years, and by the time 10 years has passed, baseball is considered lame, replaced by cool sports.

Basically, make games fun to attend for the people paying to go there...

 

That said, the disconnect between the Tom's comments about the team being competitive vs. the same 'ol, same 'ol dumpster dive AAAA depth mountain team Falvey always builds are more in context by the firing of Falvey.

[bunsen82]

My issue is they claim to want to be competitive,  they know they need more relievers - stating they need to acquire at minimum 2 more.  They supposedly have $10 million potentially more available,  and so far we have gotten nothing.  You affectively have to sign Kopech and hope he is healthy and affective.  

[Reptevia]

Is that a picture of opening day???

[NYCTK]

I look forward to this team having 1.5 Million in attendance and the idiots in charge being baffled as to why. 

 

[Twodogs]

I think that if the Twins are going to cut payroll, they should have just gone all in on a youth movement.  Bring up Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Culpepper, etc .....   Mix those guys around Buxton, don't bother with the Eric Wagaman's of the world.  Cut the payroll and promote from within.  Then if these kids get good and develop a following amongst the fanbase, then pay them.  Or if you say you want to compete now, bring in some stars, pay the money and the fans will endear themselves to those guys.  But quit doing things halfway which blocks the new talent and ages them in the minors.  Either go all in and spend some money, or go all in and bring up the kids.  Not inbetween.

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Here's what I make of the comments. Tom wants to improve attendance and he thinks the team being competitive will do that (as a prior season ticket holder, I will say it will not). The only thing which will make a difference in attendance is leading the division decisively throughout the entire year, IMHO, and the Twins are serious underdogs vs. the Tigers at this point.

One of my biggest problems with the Pohlads is they cater to the wrong markets because they arrogantly think they understand the fan base despite having every metric and indicator they do not.

Want to put butts in the seats?
Good giveaways, and enough of them so everybody has a chance to get one.
Focus on fan experience INSIDE the ball park. The surveys the Twins have sent out always focus on the parking/transit, safety around the park, entry into the game. Never on the quality of the experience DURING THE GAME.
Focus on increasing the desirability of attending Twins games for people who do have disposable income now or in the near future. Stop concentrating on making 4yr olds happy. Great, glad you feel good about yourself, but 4yr olds have zero dollars today and zero dollars for another 15 years, and by the time 10 years has passed, baseball is considered lame, replaced by cool sports.

Basically, make games fun to attend for the people paying to go there...

 

That said, the disconnect between the Tom's comments about the team being competitive vs. the same 'ol, same 'ol dumpster dive AAAA depth mountain team Falvey always builds are more in context by the firing of Falvey.

2019 says you are wrong about fans coming back when they are up decisively 

[D.C Twins]

 Exclusive LIVE feed of Tommie P

[D.C Twins]

 

'Tom Pohlad has talked more openly about the Minnesota Twins in recent months'

He talked a lot alright, but I would call it subterfuge and not transparency  

[NYCTK]

6 minutes ago, old nurse said:

2019 says you are wrong about fans coming back when they are up decisively 

They increased attendance by 350K that season, and that is the highest attendance since the new stadium honeymoon ended in 2013. 

So, respectfully, what the hell do you mean? 

The Twins were actually quite screwed by the pandemic. The front office decided to keep pushing for the 2020 season, and we probably would have seen quite the atmosphere in Target Field that season. 

[sun]

I imagine that some players could get cut after ST by both the Twins & other teams that could lead to some transactions.  Everything is in flux and adjusttments can be made between opening day and the trade deadline. Being competitive is boilerplate and only means that the team will be competing as best they can with who they've got in the organization. Why do folks insist on making arguments based on semantics? When you own the Twins you can say whatever you want & do whatever you want with your team. They're not going to spend money with declining attendence  and with little chance to not lose money in the long run by spending more short term money.. The other brother wanted to spend money to make money. But this brother, wants to generate some cash & confidence before he'll spend more money. And who can blame him? It's time for austerity. Read the tea leaves & between the lines. Go ahead and boycott the team.They've got a business to run. They didn't trade Correa & the rest so they could beat the Dodgers (you know what I mean.)

[farmerguychris]

Here's my 2 cents towards what Tom is saying.

First - he's not a baseball guy.  He's admitted that, and he probably doesn't understand that a below average regular can make $10M a year.  In the normal business world - that's an awful lot of money.  But now that he's in baseball, its just 'normal'.  I wonder if he's having trouble digesting that as he makes this transition into the baseball world from his other Pohlad companies role.  

He probably figures other than stars Buxton and Lopez, we are paying, in his mind 'fair' wages for people playing baseball.  Due to having a couple stars, and paying 'fair' wages, we should be competitive.  

I have a bad feeling that having a non-baseball owner leading a baseball team is not going to work out well for the fans.  They may make more money, his top goal, but none of us will feel any benefit from that.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

They increased attendance by 350K that season, and that is the highest attendance since the new stadium honeymoon ended in 2013. 

So, respectfully, what the hell do you mean? 

The Twins were actually quite screwed by the pandemic. The front office decided to keep pushing for the 2020 season, and we probably would have seen quite the atmosphere in Target Field that season. 

Woo hoo, at an average revenue of $50 per fan (per Forbes),and 48% going to MLB, the revenue from 350K is a drop in the bucket and still left a million empty seats 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Self imposed or not, the team is in a difficult spot. When Tom took over, Falvey was still making moves. Turns out they were trying to go in different directions. Now Falvey is gone, but with the timing of it all, there weren't many free agents available that would have filled holes. Over paying for the questionable bullpen arms that were/are left wouldn't genuinely excite the fan base and they shouldn't sign a player for the sake of making a move. 

Ill give them the benefit of the doubt for now. See how things proceed from here. What young players step up and prove they belong and hopefully next season (or possibly the trade dealine) they'll be prepared to make exciting moves to actually strengthen the teams nucleus and not just the margins. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

Woo hoo, at an average revenue of $50 per fan (per Forbes),and 48% going to MLB, the revenue from 350K is a drop in the bucket and still left a million empty seats 

350k is 18% growth over 2018. Target field seats 39,500. 81 home games max capacity is 3.2m. 350k is 10% of maximum capacity. That is FAR from a drop in the bucket.

[Whitey333]

I too disagree with the way the Twins are approaching the season.  IMO there isn't any real need to keep Ryan, Lopez, Jeffers and Buxton.  The team is not going to be competitive anyway.  Tear it all the way down.  Get those supposed can't miss prospects up and see if they can play.  This ownership and front office have pretty much ruined any enthusiasm for the upcoming season. With the dumpster diving we are doing AGAIN, it seems like there's no attempt to make improvements.  Let the prospects show what they can or can't do.  Or trade some of them for established players .

[twinstalker]

9 hours ago, rdehring said:

Also have a question.  You guys also have a site that deals with the Brewers.  Are you bashing them for the level of their payroll?  It was less than the Twins last year.  Is it again this year?  Just wondering, considering that they had the most wins in baseball last year.

LOL.  Teams that understand how to build and how to use dollar resources aren't really that bash-able.  Twins show no signs they know how to identify young talent.  Because of this they will (is it okay to say?) suck.  Because of this they would also need to spend lots of money to win.  Understanding how to identify players in the draft and internationally is the main problem this organization has, and that's totally on Falvey.  The rest is on Pohlad(s).

If I were king of the Twins, the first thing I would do is make Sean Johnson explain why he should keep his job.  I doubt his explanation would satisfy me.

[Blyleven2011]

It's a sad state of affairs in twinkieville  , when's it ever going to change ...

I think ( bean ) stated the owners don't know how to connect to the right kind fans  , they also don't know how to promote the identity of the twins ( past or present ) ...

Have a Harmon Killebrew day , a Rod Carew day , Tony O day , kaat day , a Kirby Puckett day , Blyleven day and last Mauer day  ...

These players should be honored once a year , they are hall of famers that had great careers  and grandfather's and dads can educate to their sons what great players the twins had ..

 

They should have 3 world series days every year ( bring in some of the former players and let the fans mingle with them on the field a couple of hours before or after the game every year  ) for 1965 participants ( there are still a few with us )  and 1987 winners and 1991 world series  ...

 

[old nurse]

11 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

350k is 18% growth over 2018. Target field seats 39,500. 81 home games max capacity is 3.2m. 350k is 10% of maximum capacity. That is FAR from a drop in the bucket.

It would not have been enough money to have retained Sonny Grey. In 2024

[old nurse]

16 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I look forward to this team having 1.5 Million in attendance and the idiots in charge being baffled as to why. 

 

They know the fan base it both front running and cheap. That has been the same pattern since they bought the club. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

30 minutes ago, old nurse said:

It would not have been enough money to have retained Sonny Grey. In 2024

If this is accurate https://larkletter.substack.com/p/how-the-mlb-hit-record-revenues-from

gate revenue is about 1/3 of revenue, 

average ticket $37 x 350k

$12.9m x 3 = $40m plenty to sign Sonny Gray

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, old nurse said:

It would not have been enough money to have retained Sonny Grey. In 2024

A well managed business will try to grow their business, seeing success and then capitalizing on it. Imagine if they added another 350K to their attendance after '23 instead of what they did? Suddenly we're looking at a $30+ million annual disparity.

And imagine if they did that for multiple seasons in an effort to grow an actual fan base? Like Tom said, that basically has compounding effects. 

1 hour ago, old nurse said:

They know the fan base it both front running and cheap. That has been the same pattern since they bought the club. 

Why should the people of Minneapolis be loyal to the Twins? The Pohalds stole $350 million from the people of Minneapolis to help build their stadium. And in return the Pohlads haven't given the city jack ****. They had a decent season in '23 and decided to immediately kill it. Instead of blaming common folk, maybe you should blame the organization, and the Pohlads. 

Let's just be honest. This organization has been an embarrassment since their short stretch of success from 2002-2006. 20 years, only 4 appearances in the Division Series, and only one win in those appearances. 

Yet it's the fans fault for being front runners and cheap? Sure. 

[Jeff K]

I was not a fan of Falvey.  Disliked him as a matter of fact.  But since he has left, the dumpster diving has seemingly increased.  I think that tells us pretty clearly that he was in the ownders shackles in terms of being able to build the team.  Keeping our best players and dumpster diving is pretty much the definitive of taking half measures.  The Pohlad family is simply not believable.

[terrydactyls]

17 hours ago, sun said:

"The other brother wanted to spend money to make money."

I disagree. He had his chance after their playoff victory season and, instead, he did the exact opposite.

"They didn't trade Correa & the rest so they could beat the Dodgers (you know what I mean.)"  

Actually, I have no idea what you mean.

 

[terrydactyls]

"And I’d also say that, at some point, I’d love to get off this ‘payroll’ thing for a second and let’s get halfway through the year, to the end of the year, and let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September." 

In 2026 he wants to put basically the same team on the field that lost over 90 games last year and judge that team on how well they play.  And if they are still playing "meaningful" games at the end of the year, then he will consider increasing the payroll.  First of all, he never defines "meaningful" so he can answer any outcome any way he desires.  And second, he needs to improve the team to play meaningful games in September.  There are three ways to improve a team:  1) hope everyone magically gets better,  2) spend money to acquire players that are  better than current players, and 3) make smart trades (HaHaHa.  I had to laugh at that).  I guess he is choosing the first option.

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

If this is accurate https://larkletter.substack.com/p/how-the-mlb-hit-record-revenues-from

gate revenue is about 1/3 of revenue, 

average ticket $37 x 350k

$12.9m x 3 = $40m plenty to sign Sonny Gray

Once again, Forbes figures it out for each club. For Minnnesota it is easy because they can look at sales tax receipts. $50 a fan. Now remember that revenue per fan is shared so the Twins see 52% of it, thus 9 million 

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

A well managed business will try to grow their business, seeing success and then capitalizing on it. Imagine if they added another 350K to their attendance after '23 instead of what they did? Suddenly we're looking at a $30+ million annual disparity.

And imagine if they did that for multiple seasons in an effort to grow an actual fan base? Like Tom said, that basically has compounding effects. 

Why should the people of Minneapolis be loyal to the Twins? The Pohalds stole $350 million from the people of Minneapolis to help build their stadium. And in return the Pohlads haven't given the city jack ****. They had a decent season in '23 and decided to immediately kill it. Instead of blaming common folk, maybe you should blame the organization, and the Pohlads. 

Let's just be honest. This organization has been an embarrassment since their short stretch of success from 2002-2006. 20 years, only 4 appearances in the Division Series, and only one win in those appearances. 

Yet it's the fans fault for being front runners and cheap? Sure. 

The fans are what they are. That is not faulting the fans for anything. Attendance numbers follow winning. There is absolutely long history of that with the Twins since the 70s. The only 2 exceptions are the openings of a new stadium and when Paul Molitor joined the Twins.  Frontrunning.