Something monumental happened to the Minnesota Twins this week; the team announced it had agreed to to a new TV deal that frees fans from the clutches of Bally Sports North.
It was spectacular timing given how the season ended and how brutal the vibes were heading into the offseason. There’s still a lot of trust that needs to be regained, but the Twins getting with MLB to give fans a direct-to-consumer option is a huge step in the right direction.
Details of the new TV deal are still getting finalized, but the overwhelming consensus is that this is how the Ewoks felt at the end of Return of the Jedi. It’s not all fuzzy news, though, as the Twins threw a bit of a wet blanket on the excitement when reminding everyone how frugal this winter is about to be.
Dave St. Peter says new TV deal doesn't mean Twins will spend in free agency
After news of the new TV deal was announced, Dave St. Peter cautioned against getting too excited about what it means for the team's payroll. While the logic makes sense that if the lack of a TV deal last year meant a budget reduction then an even better deal means the team will spend, that won't be the case.
St. Peter said that the new deal does not impact the payroll one way or the other -- which is a strange good news/bad news sandwich for fans to stomach.
"I don't think today's announcement has any impact on payroll," St. Peter said. "We do expect there will be a reduction in local media revenue coming to the Twins in 2025."
At the very least the payroll won't be further reduced, but that's already been a major talking point for Twins brass since the end of the season. Almost as soon as the final pitch of the year was thrown, the organization began getting out in front of any angst rolling over from how frustrating last winter was.
Getting reminded this quickly after such good news that the payroll will be an annoying thing we all deal with this winter sort of harshes the vibes, but it doesnt’ kill them. It’s not surprising, either, as the revenue from the new deal isn’t going to hit until next year anyway.
This is yet another case of the team kicking the can down the road and setting up an eventual move rather than actually making one. We’ll see what happens this winter as far as meaingfully adding to the roster, but at the very least there’s more light at the end of the tunnel than there was a week ago.
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