The Pohlad family announced they were considering selling the Twins over two months ago, 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. 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 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 as 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 include a minority 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 at least six months. Minnesota president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters at the Winter Meetings that the franchise was in the initial information-gathering phase of the process and that the Twins had yet to move on to identifying or vetting potential buyers.
Carl Pohlad bought the Twins in 1984, with 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. Still, 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, Minnesota fans were upset when the team slashed payroll after a successful 2023 season (and the end of the Twins’ broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group). Those feelings only hardened when a late-season collapse cost the Twins a playoff berth. MLB will run Twins broadcasts in 2025, though with lower fees than the Diamond deal, which means less revenue will come back to the organization.
It is too early to speculate on whether or not the Ishbias or any owner would suddenly push a lot more money into roster construction. Of course, the payroll structures of pro baseball and basketball are vastly different, but for some reference, Amick/Hayes/Lee note that Mat Ishbia was almost instantly aggressive after buying the Suns. Within 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.
