In a significant turn of events, owner Joe Pohlad of the Twins revealed last month that his clan was considering offloading the long-held franchise. The Pohlad lineage has held ownership of the Twins for a span of four decades, which means an impending sale would spell a consequential shift for the team. The transition state could presumably gain momentum swiftly. There’s chatter about an enthusiastic response from potential purchasers.
Speculation is rife that a sales contract might be ready by the inaugural match of the season. Major League Baseball has already kick-started the process of screening prospective buyers and is set to conduct a more detailed analysis of some applicants as the procedure advances to its final stages. The names of most possible bidders remain under wraps for now.
Recent reports have revealed that the brothers Justin and Mat Ishbia, with ownership stakes in Phoenix’s NBA and WNBA franchises, have shown interest in acquiring the Twins. Mat Ishbia, being the principal owner of the basketball franchises, might hand over the larger part of the Twins’ ownership stake to Justin, provided their family comes out on top in the bidding war. It’s evident that they are up against some stiff competition.
One influential family that doesn’t appear to be partaking in the race is the Wilfs, currently the owners of the NFL’s Vikings. They have clarified that they are ‘fully occupied managing the Vikings, in a positive sense.’ They also stated ‘such matters are always under consideration’ in respect to opportunities like the one presented by the Twins, but they downplayed any strong intent to participate in the auction.
The Pohlad family has plans to entirely hand over the reins of the franchise to the eventual victorious bidder. Once the sale gets the green light from Major League Baseball, the new ownership would immediately assume control. MLB’s approval requires a consensus among at least 75% of the other franchise owners.
This move is likely to have future ramifications on the budget available for the front office. However, it’s unlikely to create any ripples in the offseason. The Twins have not made any significant moves in the free agency and indicated they are operating within a tight financial boundary unless they manage to unload funds through a trade.
Interesting comparisons can be made with the most recent franchise sale, which happened when a consortium procured the Orioles from the Angelos family for a whopping $1.725 billion early last year. Forbes valued the Twins at a slightly lower $1.46 billion in the previous year.
To provide perspective, the Pohlad family acquired the franchise for a mere $44 million back in 1984. The drastic increase in franchise valuation affirms the surge in the popularity and revenue generation capacity of baseball over the decades.