Potential Twins Buyer Reportedly Was 'Blindsided' By Pohlad Family Keeping Team

At least one potential buyer was reportedly stunned when the Pohlad family decided to maintain their ownership of the Minnesota Twins.

Dan Hayes and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reported Wednesday it was "a swift pivot in the face of festering fan discontent that sources said left one interested buyer 'blindsided' as they worked to secure financing for the believed asking price of $1.7 billion."

The Pohlad family released a letter Wednesday that explained it decided to "remain the principal owner of the Minnesota Twins" even though it is "in the process of adding two significant limited partnership groups" to the ownership structure:

Dave Campbell of the Associated Press noted the family publicized the sale 10 months ago and was likely in line to make quite the profit considering Carl Pohlad purchased the team in 1984 for $44 million.

CNBC valued the Twins at $1.65 billion in April.

Plenty of fans expressed their frustration with Wednesday's announcement, especially after the Twins traded 10 players away ahead of the July 31 deadline. Campbell pointed out there was also an ownership-mandated payroll reduction last year and that the franchise is on pace for its lowest attendance total in 16 seasons at Target Field.

Minnesota is 57-63 and sits in fourth place in the American League Central. 

While it is still looking for its first World Series title since 1991, it was a playoff team in 2023 and finished 2024 with a winning record. It seemed like it could be a factor in the AL for years to come ahead of the payroll decisions, but it is now largely playing out the string of a lost season.

The frustrated fans apparently aren't the only ones with feelings about the process, as the interested buyer who was "blindsided" may have to look elsewhere in the future to get involved in MLB team ownership.