Twins to Remain Under Pohlad Family Ownership After Exploring Sale of MLB Team

The Pohlad family won't be selling the Minnesota Twins after all.

The Pohlads said Wednesday in a statement they "explored a wide range of potential investment and ownership possibilities" but will remain the controlling owners moving forward.

"To strengthen the club in a rapidly evolving sports landscape — one that demands strong partnerships, fresh ideas, and long-term vision — we are in the process of adding two significant limited partnership groups, each of whom will bring a wealth of experience and share our family values," they said.

The Pohlads first announced last October they were putting the Twins up for sale.

Many assumed Minnesota's fire sale ahead of the MLB trade deadline was about lowering the payroll burden in order to make the franchise more attractive to outside buyers. Trading star shortstop Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros was almost purely a salary dump.

Given how the season has unfolded, Wednesday's news may not be welcomed all that positively in the Twin Cities.

Fans are voting with their feet as the Twins sit fourth in the American League Central at 56-63. Their average attendance (22,696) has declined slightly from 2024 (24,094), and that number probably won't climb after the front office pivoted toward a rebuild.

An ownership change isn't guaranteed to improve fortunes. The Miami Marlins continue to run one of MLB's lowest payrolls after Bruce Sherman took over in 2018, and David Rubenstein's honeymoon period after buying the Baltimore Orioles last year is already over.

Still, Twins fans know what to expect from the Pohlads at this point, and continuity isn't a good thing in this case. In light of recent events, Minnesota's deadline strategy looks like a bigger warning sign.

With the late Carl Pohlad running the show, the Twins won a pair of World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. They became competitive again in the 2000s, collecting six division titles between 2002-10.

Concerns over spending dated back to his tenure, though, and the Twins' entire existence was threatened when MLB weighed contraction in 2001.

With the specter of team ceasing to exist hanging over everything, Pohlad was candid about his level of personal investment.

"How much shall I pay for a legacy? Shall I pay a couple of hundred million dollars just for the privilege of showing baseball in the state of Minnesota? No," Pohlad said at the time in reference to a new stadium in Minneapolis. "You wouldn't do it and neither would anybody else."

Twins fans no longer have to fret about whether the Twins will be around in another five, 10 or 20 years. But they'll be understandably worried about how much the Pohlads' decision means an increased focus on finances over on-field results.