Twins Video
Tom Pohlad has had a lot to say since taking over as principal owner roughly two months ago. As our own Cody Christie pointed out, none of it really seems to make sense and the message only gets harder and harder to follow every time he's in front of a microphone. Or, maybe…just maybe we shouldn’t hold Tom accountable for the poor decisions of the Pohlads who came before him. At least that's what one Minnesota Twins alumnus is encouraging fans to consider.
Former 1st round pick and Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe met with Pohlad via a Zoom call on Friday afternoon and “left the conversation feeling really, really excited about the future of the Twins.” By way of a video shared from his X account (that Plouffe alleges Pohlad didn't ask him to make), Plouffe shared that Pohlad reached out to him to set up the call to get Plouffe’s “thoughts on the organization, where we’ve been, [and] where we need to go.”
Despite coming prepared for the call, Plouffe was told that Pohlad would talk first after which Plouffe told Pohlad he was “going to do great at this”. Plouffe went on to share that Pohlad “touched on” every one of the notes that he had prepared and that the call was a “breath of fresh air.” While Plouffe calls himself “bullish on this team” and an “optimist”, he pleads for fans to give “the Twins and Tom a chance this year.”
Label me a cynic, because I'm not sold.
While I'll give credit to Tom for speaking more and more candidly than any of the family members he succeeded, at the end of the day he's a businessman. Moreover, he's in real estate. He's a professional salesman and it's to be determined whether he's a professional baseball owner. While those are all facts, it’s my opinion that until he proves otherwise he's nothing more than a schmoozer. He allegedly believes that this Twins team, which is mostly the same as the team who went 19-35 in the last season two months of 2025, can compete in 2026. Yet, we’re two months removed from him taking on his new role and the Twins payroll sits roughly $35 million below last Opening Day and $70 million below the MLB average. Tom talked about 2026 being “critical to the success” of “building a business that can be playing competitive baseball for a string of seasons in a row.” Yet, the highlight of his short tenure as principal owner is spending $21 million on two average at best players (Josh Bell and Victor Caratini), one of whom opens the door to trading the third highest paid player on the roster (Ryan Jeffers). So, in case you got lost like I did, 2026 is “critical” but not critical enough to make moves that make the team meaningfully better.
While I have enjoyed following Trevor’s post playing career, especially with how much love he's always shown the Twins, I don't feel obligated to just give Tom Pohlad a chance on a whim. After all, trust isn't given, it's earned. In fact, a little trust was lost hearing that Tom demanded to talk first. He wanted to control the conversation. He wanted to make sure Trevor heard what he had to say before Trevor had the chance to speak for himself. Take any class on leadership and you’ll learn how important listening is to being an effective leader. Tom didn’t listen, he told Trevor what he wanted to hear. In my opinion, he wanted to control the narrative. In my opinion, Trevor was schmoozed.
So, call me a cynic because I am. Until Tom earns my trust, he's paying for what Joe Pohlad (and Jim before him) “got wrong.” However, at the end of the day, I am a Twins fan through and through. A few years from now, I hope I'm the one that got it wrong.
Does listening to what Trevor shared change how you feel about the Twins as a team or Tom Pohlad as the new principal owner? Join the conversation in the comments!
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