Twins Are Safe at Home Base; Ownership Won’t Sell Team

The Minnesota Twins are off the market, but the current ownership has a new plan for the franchise.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (C) talks with Minnesota Twins executive vice president Joe Pohlad (L) and Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey before Game 2 of an AL wild-card baseball playoff series between the Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays in Minneapolis on Oct. 4, 2023. Abbie Parr/AP Photo

The Minnesota Twins are staying put, ownership said on Wednesday, halting the sale of the team.

Executive chair Joe Pohlad confirmed that his family “will remain the principal owner of the Minnesota Twins” and that two “significant” limited partnership groups will also invest in the team.

“For more than four decades, our family has had the privilege of owning the Minnesota Twins,” Pohlad said in a statement. “This franchise has become part of our family story, as it has for our employees, our players, this community, and Twins fans everywhere.”

Carl Pohlad purchased the team in 1984 for $44 million, and the Twins won two World Series in his first decade as owner in 1987 and 1991, but the team hasn’t enjoyed the same success since.

Joe Pohlad, grandson of the late Carl Pohlad, explained that his family will get investors involved in the ownership of the team.

He noted that the undisclosed investors offer “a wealth of experience and share our family values” in joining the organization.

“We see and hear the passion from our partners, the community, and Twins fans. That passion inspires us,” Pohlad said.

“This ownership group is committed to building a winning team and culture for this region, one that Twins fans are proud to cheer for.”

The Twins haven’t given consistent reasons for fans to cheer over the past three decades. Minnesota had eight-straight losing seasons in the 1990s, and the Twins didn’t make it past the Wild Card or Divisional Series in all playoff appearances between 2003 and 2022.

Low payroll has been a major culprit over the years, and the Twins have parted ways with star players, such as former pitcher Johan Santana in 2007. Most recently, the Twins traded away 10 players, which included star shortstop Carlos Correa.

Before this season, the Twins looked poised to have a transition in ownership. Chicago White Sox minority owner and billionaire Justin Ishbia was considered a contender for the Twins bid, but that fell through when he deepened his White Sox investment in February.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in July via the Star Tribune that “there will be a transaction there” in regards to Twins ownership. That transition won’t include a move, which was on the table once during the Pohlads’ ownership.

In 1997, Carl Pohlad explored selling the team to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver, but that fell through because North Carolina residents voted against the referendum for a new ballpark. The Twins then survived MLB contraction in 2001 via an injunction by a Minnesota judge, though the team had not been high-earning, and the former Metrodome was considered outdated.

Nine years later, the Twins opened a new outdoor ballpark in Minneapolis, Target Field, which became one of the premier stadiums in MLB. However, the Pohlads’ spending approach didn’t lead to contending rosters around the likes of former stars Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano.

Joe Pohlad is well aware of the fan base’s angst over the Twins not spending and putting together championship contenders. The Twins have a 56–63 record this season amid the trade deadline fire sale, and pitchers Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez could be next after the season.

“We found two great partners and have already developed some pretty solid relationships with them,” Pohlad said. “There is alignment on how we see the Twins moving forward, and also in our belief in the future of baseball in Minnesota.”

The Twins first came to Minnesota in 1961 when former Washington Senators president Calvin Griffith moved the team from the nation’s capital after 67 years of existence at the time.