Now in charge, Tom Pohlad trying to connect with disenchanted Twins fans

In the first month after Tom Pohlad replaced his younger brother, Joe, as the primary Twins owner, he has started his attempt to change perceptions around the team.

He had one-on-one meetings with stars Byron Buxton, Pablo López and Joe Ryan for their input on where they think the team needs to improve on and off the field.

He called 50 season-ticket holders who have yet to renew for the 2026 season, though many calls went to voicemails.

“I had one guy hang up on me three times because he thought I was a hoax,” Pohlad said Friday, Jan. 23. “I had to text him and say this is Tom Pohlad. Let’s say the response wasn’t necessarily kind back, but hopefully the effort counts for something.”

Pohlad believes he can still earn trust back from Twins fans upset about the direction of the franchise. He invited another 40-50 canceled season-ticket holders for a town hall event during this weekend’s TwinsFest, where he plans to speak alongside team President Derek Falvey and General Manager Jeremy Zoll.

The Twins slashed their payroll by $30 million after a postseason appearance in 2023, were inaccessible by many cable TV subscribers for several months in 2024, traded 10 players off their major league roster at last year’s trade deadline and saw the Pohlad family opt to keep ownership of the team after exploring a sale for 10 months.

“In a lot of things we tripped over ourselves, if you will, and we certainly didn’t do a good job communicating what we were going through and what we were trying to accomplish,” Pohlad said. “You take that all together and it’s a recipe for a very challenging time. We’re trying to hit the reset button — not a rebuild button, but a reset button.”

“If our fans are unclear on what the direction of the team is, I have to imagine people in the organization are and our players are,” Pohlad said. “I wanted to reach out to those guys and do the exact same thing I’m doing with the fans.

“Where have we been? Where are we going? And how can they help us get there. I think it’s important. We need leaders in the clubhouse. We need leaders in the front office. We need leaders in ownership. We have to be aligned across the board.”

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the Twins. They signed first baseman Josh Bell, brought in catcher Victor Caratini and reunited with lefthanded reliever Taylor Rogers. Zoll said on Friday that the Twins plan to continue adding to their roster, particularly the bullpen, and they have room in ownership’s budgeted payroll to continue making moves.

The Twins have a projected Opening Day payroll hovering around $108 million, which would be their lowest figure since 2017.

Perhaps, that’s a reason why the season-ticket holder who hung up on Pohlad three times didn’t want to chat after seeing Pohlad’s text.

The Twins traded their two biggest free-agent signings this decade, Carlos Correa and Josh Donaldson, within three seasons after those players signed their deals.

Will the Twins avoid those types of big-dollar contracts in the future?

“That’s money well spent, but I think it also matters what you do in addition to that,” Pohlad said. “Hindsight being 20/20, Correa and one person can’t get the job done. One person can’t be a difference-maker, particularly at the payroll and market that we are in. If you are going to go all-in, you have to go all-in. You have to do a Correa and you have to build pieces around that, which truly put you in a position to compete for a world championship.”

When Pohlad spoke with the canceled season-ticket holders, fans told him they were upset about the lack of financial investment in the team. He says he wants to be more accountable with the fanbase going forward.

“I’m invested,” Pohlad said. “I’m engaged. I’m going to push on everybody to get creative and get aggressive on how we turn this business around, period. I’m not going to stop until we get there.”

Bremer started his play-by-play career in 1983 and spent most of the next 41 seasons as the Twins’ play-by-play voice on TV.