When the Minnesota Twins were put up for sale last fall, there was a celebration among fans. Handcuffed by the Pohlad family, Twins fans dreamed of an owner who could come in and spend with MLB’s heavy hitters and put a product that everybody could get behind on and off the field.
In many ways, they need Prince Charming with a briefcase full of cash. And they may have found it in Justin Ishbia.
According to a Bloomberg report, Justin Ishbia, brother of Phoenix Suns owner Mat, is interested in buying the Twins and the family’s spending ways could be a major victory for Twins fans who just want to see their owner invest in the team.
Who are Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia?
The Ishbia family is familiar to basketball fans after Mat Ishbia bought the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion in 2022. The chairman and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, Mat Ishbia gave the green light to a trade that acquired Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets and signed him to a four-year, $194 million contract three days after his purchase of the Suns was approved by the NBA.
These moves were also made with Devin Booker’s four-year, $224 million supermax contract on the books, and the spending wasn’t limited to the Suns. Ishbia has announced plans for a $100 million state-of-the-art practice facility for the Mercury in 2023 and donated $32 million as a gift to his alma mater, Michigan State in 2021.
With a combined net worth of $15 billion – or three times more than the Pohlad family – it would make sense that both brothers would want to get into owning a professional sports franchise.
Since Mat hasn’t been shy about throwing money around since buying the Suns, it sounds great to Twins fans considering what they’ve been through with their current owners, who slashed payroll by $30 million last winter before blowing a double-digit lead in the Wild Card standings last August.
Why would Justin Ishbia be a win for Minnesota Twins fans?
For a team whose spending habits are on the same level as the Metrodome era, Justin Ishbia could be a savior for a team that needs someone to invest in them.
Justin Ishbia’s net worth is around $5 billion but if his spending habits are on par with his brother’s it could help the Twins keep up with big market teams such as the New York Mets, who signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $805 million mega-deal last week, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Perhaps the Twins will never be in the mix for a top name but it could be a factor in keeping their own talent. While teams like the Cleveland Guardians have traded Andres Giménez and are actively shopping Bo Naylor it would be nice to know that Royce Lewis or Walker Jenkins wouldn’t be immediately placed on the trading block if they become superstars like Carlos Correa has been during this week’s Winter Meetings.
There’s no guarantee that Ishbia will buy the Twins after Bloomberg’s report. But it’s something nice to think about after the Pohlads have refused to invest in their team for the majority of the past four decades.