The Minnesota Twins were the biggest sellers at the MLB trade deadline, dealing away a huge chunk of their roster and slashing payroll dramatically. As the clubhouse and fan base now face the ramifications of the franchise-altering trades, it appears ownership could soon be on its way out.
According to Ben Horney of Front Office Sports, there is now “momentum” toward a sale of Minnesota’s MLB franchise. After shedding tens of millions of dollars in payroll in the last 72 hours, an outright sale of the club is weeks away.
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- Minnesota Twins franchise value (Forbes): $1.5 billion
The Twins, owned by the Pohlad family since 1984, began exploring a sale this year. The Pohlad family sought $1.7 billion for the MLB club and had multiple suitors. However, parties interested in buying the franchise took issue with the asking price and the debt racked up by Twins’ ownership.
As of March, the club had approximately $425 million in debt. Parties interested in buying the team were unwilling to pay $1.7 billion for the franchise when they would also be responsible for paying off the leftover debt.
Related: Worst MLB owners, including Twins’ ownership
With the club sinking in the MLB standings, sitting well below the .500 mark, the Twins’ front office was seemingly pushed to sell off much of the club’s major-league talent. As a result, Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Ty France, Chris Paddack, Brock Stewart, Louie Varland, Griffin Jax, and Danny Coulombe were all traded away this week.
Minnesota traded away 10 of its 26 rostered major-league players, and the Correa deal was a pure salary dump. The Twins agreed to pay $33 million of the $104 million remaining on his contract. In exchange, they received left-handed pitcher Matt Mikulski, who is one of the oldest players (26 years old) in A-ball and has a 7.11 ERA this season in 12.2 innings.
- Minnesota Twins payroll 2025 (FanGraphs): $134 million
The deal saved the Pohlads millions of dollars this season and likely helped push forward efforts to sell the team for more than $1 billion later this year. While few around baseball questioned the team’s decision to trade Correa’s contract and move players on expiring contracts, moving cost-controlled talent like Varland, Jax, and Duran only hurt the team long-term. The only bright side for the fan base is that the Pohlads are on their way out.
