The Minnesota Twins are for sale.
The Pohlad family, who has owned the team since 1984, announced on Thursday they're exploring the sale of the team.
“For the past 40 seasons, the Minnesota Twins have been part of our family’s heart and soul," said a statement by Twins Executive Chair Joe Pohlad. "This team is woven into the fabric of our lives, and the Twins community has become an extension of our family. The staff, the players, and most importantly, you, the fans – everyone who makes up this unbelievable organization – is part of that. We’ve never taken lightly the privilege of being stewards of this franchise."
The late Carl Pohlad bought the team from original franchise owner Calvin Griffith in 1984 for $44 million. The Griffith family owned the team going back to 1919 as the Washington Senators before moving to Minnesota in 1961.
The team is now valued at well over $1 billion but the business model is changing. The Athletic's Dan Hayes, who covers the Twins, says the teams changing television situation plays a role in this decision.
"I think that this is a recognition that TV revenue, which was handed out basically to every team in the past, is not going to be there the same," Hayes said. "There's going to be a difference in revenues. I think that it potentially will change evaluations of franchises and this might just be a recognition that it's time to get out now before this, this kind of landscape show."
MLB just announced this week they're taking over production of Twins games (along with Cleveland and Milwaukee). With Bally Sports regional sports network going away, revenue will come down according to team President Dave St. Peter. He says ownership was well aware of that but didn't intend to lower payroll even with a drop in revenue. But it does appear to change their interest in owning the team.
"There was a massive check every year from production companies, from Comcast, from Direct TV, everything like that," Hayes said Thursday morning after the announcement. "Now, fans have to sign up individually. Where a million people basically gave them all that money, now, it's going to be 20,000, 40,000, you know, somewhere, maybe 100,000 people will sign up for the Twins."
The Pohlad family actually has the fourth longest tenure as owners across MLB at this time (only New York, Philadelphia and the Chicago White Sox are longer). Several teams have been sold over the last few season. After Carl Pohlad passed away in 2009, his son Jim became the public face, handling day-to-day operations and representing the Twins at owners meetings. Joe Pohlad has served on the Pohlad Companies' Board of Directors since 2023, was named Executive Chair of the Minnesota Twins in November 2022.
The Baltimore Orioles sold for $1.725 billion in 2024. Kansas City was sold in 2020 for $1 billion. The New York Mets also have new owners as of 2020 but for a New York price of $2.475 billion.
The Twins are not the only current MLB team for sale however. Both the LA Angels and Washington Nationals have been up for offers over the last few years without a successful bidder.
Under the Pohlad family, the team won two world championships (1987 and 1991) and many years of success including a new ballpark, Target Field, that is the envy of many MLB franchises.
There were also controversies, contraction, possible moves out of the state, and many, many complaints from fans about payroll cuts.
Rest of Joe Pohlad Statement:
“However, after months of thoughtful consideration, our family reached a decision this summer to explore selling the Twins," continued the statement from Joe Pohlad. "As we enter the next phase of this process, the time is right to make this decision public."
“We truly respect and cherish what the Twins mean to Minneapolis, St. Paul, the great state of Minnesota, and this entire region. Our goal is to be as informative as possible with the team, staff, and you, the fans. You deserve that, because in so many ways, this team doesn’t belong to any one family – it belongs to all of you. It’s our objective to find an ownership group who all of us can be proud of and who will take care of the Minnesota Twins.
“After four decades of commitment, passion, and countless memories, we are looking toward the future with care and intention – for our family, the Twins organization, and this community we love so much.”