Does the AJ Minter Trade Prove Tom Pohlad Is Serious About Spending?

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Minnesota Twins made their first splash of the 2026 trade deadline late Thursday evening, acquiring left-handed reliever AJ Minter from the New York Mets in exchange for Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick. On the surface, it was exactly the type of move Twins fans had been hoping to see. The bullpen desperately needed another late-inning arm, and Minter immediately gives Minnesota one of the better left-handed relievers available on the market.

As exciting as the addition itself was, an even more intriguing detail surfaced shortly afterward.

In his trade recap for The Athletic, Will Sammon reported, "Minter is owed $3.3 million after Monday before becoming a free agent this offseason. The Mets are not paying down any of the remaining salary, said a person with knowledge of the situation."

For most organizations, that line probably wouldn't generate much discussion. For the Twins, though, it stands out.

For years, Minnesota has operated differently than many contenders at the trade deadline. Rather than simply absorbing contracts, the Twins have often preferred to include additional prospect value in exchange for financial relief. When they acquired Chris Paddack from the Padres and Jorge López from the Orioles, both trades included cash considerations to help offset the remaining salary. There are many more examples. That has become part of the organization's identity. If there was an opportunity to have the selling team eat money, the Twins almost always took it.

That's what makes the Minter trade feel different.

Minter is making $11 million this season before becoming a free agent this winter. While Minnesota is only responsible for the final $3.3 million, that's still a significant investment for roughly two months of relief pitching. This is an organization that has rarely shown a willingness to spend that kind of money on a bullpen arm. As The Athletic's Dan Hayes pointed out on X, the last time the Twins had an $11 million reliever on their roster was Joe Nathan.

The Twins obviously aren't paying Minter's full salary, but paying more than $3 million for two months of a reliever is still noteworthy. To put that into perspective, Taylor Rogers entered the season as the highest-paid reliever on the roster at $2 million. The Twins are now paying roughly 50 percent more than that for just the final two months of Minter's contract.

That may not seem like a huge financial commitment compared to many of baseball's biggest spenders, but it represents a noticeable departure from how the Twins have traditionally approached these types of deals.

It also happens to align with everything Tom Pohlad has been saying publicly.

Ahead of the trade deadline in an interview with the media, Pohlad acknowledged that if the Twins want to become the kind of organization they aspire to be, they can't continue operating with one of the league's smaller payrolls. "We might have a magical year this year, but a $100 million payroll is not going to get the job done for trying to accomplish the kinds of things we want to accomplish."

Those comments were encouraging, but they were still only words. Twins fans have heard optimistic messaging before. What they've wanted to see is action.

While one trade certainly doesn't erase years of frustration, this is at least an encouraging first step. The Twins had every opportunity to ask the Mets to pay down part of Minter's remaining salary. Instead, they simply took on the contract themselves. That may not be groundbreaking around Major League Baseball, but it absolutely is in Minnesota.

It also raises an interesting question about whether Pohlad truly intends to operate differently than previous generations of ownership. Nobody should be declaring victory after one move, and one $3.3 million commitment doesn't suddenly erase years of payroll limitations. More moves will have to follow before anyone can confidently say that the first name matters more than the last name.

Still, if Pohlad was looking for a way to begin changing the perception surrounding the organization, this was a pretty good place to start.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway isn't AJ Minter himself. It's what this newfound willingness to absorb salary could mean over the next few days.

If the Twins are genuinely willing to take on contracts instead of insisting that the selling club pay down salary, their list of potential trade targets becomes significantly larger. Expensive players naturally require less prospect capital because the acquiring team is assuming the financial burden. For years, that market has essentially been closed to Minnesota.

Take Kevin Gausman as an example. The veteran right-hander is still owed more than $7 million over the remainder of this season on an expiring deal. Under the Twins' previous operating philosophy, a contract like that likely would have been a nonstarter unless Toronto agreed to eat a substantial portion of the money while receiving a better prospect package in return.

If the Twins are actually willing to absorb contracts like that, the equation changes dramatically. Instead of paying with premium prospects, the Twins can use payroll flexibility as part of the acquisition cost. That opens the door to talented veterans who may have previously been unavailable simply because of the dollars attached to their contracts.

There's still a long way to go before the trade deadline passes, and one move doesn't establish a trend. The Twins will ultimately be judged by what they do over the next several days, not just by their first trade.

Even so, it's hard to ignore the symbolism of this deal. After an offseason full of promises, followed by Pohlad publicly saying that a $100 million payroll isn't enough to accomplish the organization's goals, the Twins responded by making a move they simply haven't made in the past. Paying the entirety of Minter's remaining salary won't make headlines across baseball, but in Minnesota it represents a meaningful philosophical shift.

Maybe it's just one trade. Maybe it's the first sign of a new way of doing business. Either way, it's a promising start.

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What do you make of the Twins absorbing the rest of Minter's salary? Is this the first indication that Tom Pohlad is serious about increasing payroll, or do you need to see more before believing things have truly changed? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

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[Nebtwinsfan]

It isn't as though their payroll is $150 million. They have room to spend and should have spent more last winter. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Nebtwinsfan
Typo

[Fatbat]

So in the recent past, the org has spent stupid money 💴 on Gallo, Margot, mr. pink arm socks and 137 pitchers that needed ucl surgery. It sure seems like T. Pohlad is choosing to spend more wisely. The big spending tell will be if he is going to spend big money on star players during their prime years. 

[alexlegge]

It certainly proves that he's serious about spending on A.J. Minter.

That's something, which is more than you can say about any player acquisitions by the Twins dating back to at least the 2023-24 offseason. 

[HarmonK03]

Let's just push the payroll past $200m, that will guarantee a winner.

[thelanges5]

They’ve spent $5m on Minter and Kremer. Nice to see and I hope they’ve got some more trades coming. Let’s go Twins!

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, Nebtwinsfan said:

It isn't as though their payroll is $150 million. They have room to spend and should have spent more last winter. 

Their "break even" payroll is ~$130 million. They were at ~$116 million going into the season, even counting Correa and Pablo. They are probably closer to $106 if they have any insurance on Pablo. They can certainly afford to take on some salary. 

[JD-TWINS]

29 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

Let's just push the payroll past $200m, that will guarantee a winner.

……..just ask the Met’s fans.

An additional $50M in ‘26, back to the level of 2023 would have been way more than enough to have a much better chance to win the Division.

The flip side is, as of March 1st, Lopez - Festa - Abel - Sands were all in play. Nobody anticipated Jeffers missing 60 games. Emma not being available all year due to another injury was a bit of an unfortunate turn. Some, but not everyone thought Wallner would be a complete bust! Piecing things together with Parades/Rojas/Marthews/Prielipp is commendable. Clemens at 1B - RF - 2B - LF seamlessly has been a nice twist. Keaschall leaving the infield, and Royce at playing 1B are all positive moves that most wouldn’t have considered in June. The players are getting it done, not mgmt., to be clear.

Tough to spend a bunch more $$ in all the right places to make sure everything that comes up in the future is covered.

A couple more highly paid guys going into Spring Training should have been done, to your point.

[old nurse]

33 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

Let's just push the payroll past $200m, that will guarantee a winner.

Yup, spending over 200 million guarantees a winner., just look at Toronto and the Mets this year. If the Giants had spent 17 million more the still would be the second worst team in baseballl

[old nurse]

Trading for Minter does noy show that they will spend crazy money on a player having a season that is below their pay grade.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, HarmonK03 said:

Let's just push the payroll past $200m, that will guarantee a winner.

Ask the NYM.

[tony&rodney]

Running a baseball team cost money. Yes, they are serious. There have to be solid options before  spending and then the expense has to be a positive over what it replaces. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

There is also this:  Playing competitive baseball until the trade deadline and then acquiring  top quality relievers , whose contacts expire at the end of the season, allows the Twins to have a much stronger team for September and the pennant race and for the playoffs at   31.5 % of the total seasonal contract of the acquired relievers. If the Twins can find relievers who are available, but who over performed  their contract value, then the 31.5 percentage is even more of a good deal.  Might be on to something here.

[strumdatjag]

Minter is not the big test for Pohlad.   I’m looking for a blockbuster 3 team trade that would send “cheap” free-agent-to-be Ryan Jeffers to a contender, that contender sending prospects to a SELLER and the Twins receiving an “expensive” expiring contract of a legitimate good starter (Kevin Gausman, or Robbie Ray or …), and a prospect.    With the addition of another starter, Matthews or Prielipp could then boost the bullpen, along with Rojas.
The Twins would take on more salary by essentially trading the cheaper Jeffers for a more expensive and less valuable starter (thereby justifying an additional prospect being thrown into the trade). 
 

[GNess]

I don't know about specific spending thresholds equating to any standard for success.. But in general the teams that are willing to spend are those that win more often than those that don't.

I don't get any special satisfaction because the Twins pulled off a positive move on occasion by searching the bargain bin such as Kody Clemens. (Who I enjoy watching!)

My enjoyment comes primarily from rooting for a talented team playing entertaining baseball, competing hard and WINNING.

There is little doubt that spending more would be one crucial component in making those things happen.

[Cris E]

$5m is chump change when they're still this far below what the league is giving them. They've got many millions to go before I feel like Pohlad is reaching for his own wallet. 

Serious isn't just a matter of money, but it's certainly a decent measuring stick and these trades do indicate that right now the org values talent more than money. That's a good sign. Keep rolling.

[Mike Sixel]

No. It proves nothing. These are minor moves, almost rounding errors. 

[HarmonK03]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

……..just ask the Met’s fans.

An additional $50M in ‘26, back to the level of 2023 would have been way more than enough to have a much better chance to win the Division.

The flip side is, as of March 1st, Lopez - Festa - Abel - Sands were all in play. Nobody anticipated Jeffers missing 60 games. Emma not being available all year due to another injury was a bit of an unfortunate turn. Some, but not everyone thought Wallner would be a complete bust! Piecing things together with Parades/Rojas/Marthews/Prielipp is commendable. Clemens at 1B - RF - 2B - LF seamlessly has been a nice twist. Keaschall leaving the infield, and Royce at playing 1B are all positive moves that most wouldn’t have considered in June. The players are getting it done, not mgmt., to be clear.

Tough to spend a bunch more $$ in all the right places to make sure everything that comes up in the future is covered.

A couple more highly paid guys going into Spring Training should have been done, to your point.

We need a sarcasm emoji,  My comment was mostly made tongue in cheek.  Remember the signings we did make this offseason, Caratini and Bell to play 1B.  He had some money to spend and he made questionable signings based on the timing of when they were made.  I am not sure I would trust him with additional dollars after signings like that.

[rdehring]

1 hour ago, howeda7 said:

Their "break even" payroll is ~$130 million. They were at ~$116 million going into the season, even counting Correa and Pablo. They are probably closer to $106 if they have any insurance on Pablo. They can certainly afford to take on some salary. 

Have you seen their financial statement to know what their break even is?

Excellent review, Matt, thanks.

[The Great Hambino]

On its own? No

Could it be the first in a series of moves between now and Dec 1 that prove he's walking the walk?  Certainly possible

[HarmonK03]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

Ask the NYM.

That was my point.

[Andy MacPhail]

For me, it's not about how much you spend in a trade, it's about how well you trade. IMO, Minter is a step in the right direction, but Kremer is not. He's more about Twins usual making a trade just checking off a box, & say see we traded for a SP, instead of making a good trade that moves the needle. This was a step in the wrong direction.

[mike8791]

Not sure if these 2 marginal trades are indicative of a real push over the next 2 days to turn this team into a real contender or just putting lipstick on the proverbial pig to help fan appeal.   A real push would entail taking on a strong #3 rotation arm like Ray or Gausman by taking on remaining salary and giving up maybe a top 10 prospect.  The other major move would be to unload soon-to-be FA Jeffers for a solid #3/4 arm who would provide additional service beyond this year.  At this point with the team solidly in WC hunt, I hope they keep Jeffers(one of their top 2 batters in a lineup sorely lacking talent) and spend some money now to elevate the rotation.

[NYCTK]

I think it's brave and noble of the pohlads to dig into their ~$25 million profit to spend a little bit to somewhat improve the entertainment product they inherited. 

[bean5302]

The vast majority of trades will be made Sunday or Monday. These are just the teasers. Picking up a reliever like Mintner signals the Twins are obvious buyers. It doesn't suggest the Twins are going to make a big change in payroll.

I think the owners are probably going to get the hard salary cap this time around, and we may lose a lot of 2027 to get it, but with the cap will come a hard floor. The floor is going to be at least $150MM, but I'd wager higher than that.