It has been over two months since the Pohlad family announced they were looking into selling the Twins, and a prominent potential buyer has now been identified. According to Bloomberg’s Isis Almeida, Miranda Davis, and Randall Williams, a group led by billionaire Justin Ishbia has expressed interest in purchasing the franchise, and Ishbia has been “meeting with local community leaders across the state to learn more about the community and the opportunity to carry on the Twins legacy.”
The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Dan Hayes, and Dennis Lin have more details, specifying that both Justin and Mat Ishbia would be involved in the ownership group, with Justin acting as the lead investor. The brothers already own the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, with Mat acting as governor for those franchises and Justin the alternate governor. Presumably in the same manner that Mat Ishbia is considered the chief “owner” of the Suns and Mercury, Justin Ishbia would take a similar head role in overseeing the Twins, with his brother in a secondary capacity. Justin Ishbia’s sports interests also include a minority ownership stake in Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC franchise.
There is no sense that the Ishbia or any other potential bidders are close to completing a purchase, as Amick/Hayes/Lin write that the sale process will take a minimum of six months. Minnesota president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters at the Winter Meetings that the franchise in the initial information-gathering phase of the process, and that the Twins had yet to move onto identifying or vetting potential buyers.
Carl Pohlad bought the Twins in 1984, with the role of day-to-day ownership oversight going to Carl’s son Jim Pohlad in 2009, and then to Jim’s nephew Joe Pohlad in November 2022. The Pohlad family’s tenure has seen the Twins capture two World Series titles (1987 and 1991) and 11 division titles, but those high points have also been somewhat obscured by consistently limited spending over most of the four decades the Pohlads have been in charge. The Twins were under consideration to be contracted by MLB in 2001, and the opening of Target Field in 2010 only temporarily boosted the club’s payroll.
Most recently, the team’s decision to slash payroll in the wake of a successful 2023 season (and the abrupt end of the Twins’ broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group) left Minnesota fans upset, and those feelings only hardened when a late-season collapse cost the Twins a playoff berth. MLB itself will be running Twins broadcasts in 2025, though with lower fees than the Diamond deal, and thus less revenue coming back to the organization.
It is far too early to speculate on whether or not the Ishbias or any owner would suddenly push a lot more money into roster construction. The payroll structures of pro baseball and basketball are vastly different, of course, but for some reference, Amick/Hayes/Lee note that Mat Ishbia was almost instantly aggressive after buying the Suns. Within just a few days after that sale was official in February 2023, Ishbia pushed his front office to swing a blockbuster trade for superstar Kevin Durant.
