Reports have surfaced that the Minnesota Twins could be sold by opening day, including a new story published by The Athletic.
In October the Pohlad family announced they'd explore a sale of the franchise they have owned since 1984.
Dan Hayes with The Athletic told WCCO Radio's Henry Lake Tuesday night the Pohlad's have found a "robust market" for the club.
"Talking to people recently, they think that it could be as early as opening day," Hayes says about the sale. "The goal, the stated goal at this point, is to pick the winning bidder by opening day and there's a lot of interest in the team."
Hayes suggests the club could be sold for just north of $1.7 billion. The most recent MLB team purchased was the Baltimore Orioles, sold last March to David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion.
Phoenix Suns-Phoenix Mercury and Nashville Soccer Club minority owner Justin Ishbia has been floated as someone with interest in the club. Ishbia is a Chicago-based private equity firm founder who Forbes estimates to be worth around $5 billion.
Hayes also says new owners could breath new life into the team and fanbase. The Twins are coming off a disappointing 2024. The club won the AL Central Division in 2023 and won their first playoff game, and playoff series, in two decades. But it didn't carry over to 2024.
"Rarely when you have a team that wins the division the year before, do they sell fewer tickets than the year before that," explained Hayes. "But the twins did that. They didn't reach 2 million (fans). You know, that was not a great look as far as the business side of things. So I think the fanbase needs to be re-energized."
Fans expressed frustration with payroll cuts despite the success they had in 2023, and ongoing issues with finding the team on television. That's one of the challenges the Twins have yet to resolve with MLB taking over production of games for the team. But there still isn't word on what channel on cable, satellite or over-the-air fans can find those games, although there will be a standalone streaming option for the first time. (ED. NOTE: WCCO/Audacy is the radio home of Twins baseball)
Despite the rumors regarding Ishbia, Hayes says little is known about the parties looking to purchase the Twins due to a strict vetting process.