About the only thing outside of Luke Keaschall that was keeping Twins fans afloat after the trade deadline fire sale two weeks ago was the idea that a sale of the team was likely (if not imminent).
Wednesday’s news, then, probably feels like a gut punch to a lot of the team’s dwindling support base.
“Our family will remain the principal owner of the Minnesota Twins,” Twins chairman Joe Pohlad announced in a statement issued by the team.
It was a dramatic turn of events. Star Tribune Twins beat writer Phil Miller and I discussed the news on an emergency Daily Delivery podcast.
Here are 10 things to know about Wednesday’s announcement:
- The reaction from fans has been, um, not great. Social media tends to bring out the loudest and most critical of the bunch, but it is a nightmare in the replies to the Twins official X/Twitter account already. Here is one of the cleanest and most polite examples:
- I dropped the news right after it broke into a group chat filled with friends of mine who are passionate Twins fans. Here is a sampling of their responses: “Come on.” “So what is the best way to riot.” “Just saw the story. I’m glad I learned from a friend first.” “WHY DO THEY WANT TO STAY EVERYONE HATES THEM.”
- Why are fans so mad? The Pohlad family has, for many of them, become a symbol of dysfunctional ownership invested more in profits than winning. That was emphasized after the 2023 season when, following the team’s first playoff series win in more than two decades, the Twins cut payroll. When it was announced 10 months ago that the team was for sale, it signaled the possibility for change and a new approach.
- Since then, the Twins have floundered in 2025 and then shed $26 million in salary (plus future salary with Carlos Correa) by trading 10 MLB players at the deadline. If the prevailing hope was that a sell-off could make the team more attractive to a buyer, that has been dashed now as well. (Technically, I suppose, they were attractive to two buyers. The news Wednesday included word that the Pohlads are adding “two significant limited partnership groups” to the team. But the Pohlads are remaining the principal owners and decisionmakers).
- This quote from Pohlad in Phil Miller’s interview with him after the news broke might linger for a while and be mocked relentlessly: “I don’t think we could have imagined a better outcome than where we landed.”
- What happened in the last 10 months? Billionaire Justin Ishbia was the front-runner to buy the team, but he invested in the White Sox instead. That forced a reset, but even just a month ago at the all-star break MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said this about the Twins: “I can tell you with a lot of confidence that there will be a transaction there, and it will be consistent with the kind of pricing that has taken place” in other franchise sales. Tampa Bay agreed to a sale recently for $1.7 billion, believed to be in the range of what the Twins wanted.
- What will this mean for the Twins going forward? As my guest on the Daily Delivery podcast last week, Star Tribune Twins writer Bobby Nightengale suggested that if the Pohlad family retained control of the team — which seemed unlikely at the time — they could cut even more payroll this offseason by exploring trades of pitchers Pablo López and Joe Ryan.
- Attendance for the Twins is lagging this season and has been a sore subject for years. This news combined with any further payroll reductions could send it spiraling even further in 2026.
- Is this good news for anyone? Probably Twins employees like President Derek Falvey, manager Rocco Baldelli and others. A sale could have meant a shakeup at the top, with a trickle-down effect in the organization. Instead, the preservation of the status quo with ownership could mean more job stability for them.
- Is there any reason to be optimistic about this? The Twins will spin it that way. “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.” But if the Twins tighten their budget and have an even harder time competing, this will not be a win for fans. It will be the exact opposite.
