The Minnesota Twins' new control person, Tom Pohlad, spoke with the media on Friday, addressing fans' frustration and taking accountability for the regression the team experienced after their successful 2023 season that ended with a loss to the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series.
“In a lot of things, we tripped over ourselves,” Pohlad said to the media, including The Athletic (subscription required). “And we certainly didn’t do a good job communicating what we were going through and what we were trying to accomplish. You take that all together, and it’s a recipe for a very challenging time. We’re trying to hit the reset button..."
Pohlad also reportedly called 50 season-ticket holders who have yet to renew for the 2026 season. He also met with stars Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo López to get their thoughts on how the team can improve.
After the 2023 season, rather than adding big names to an exciting group, the Twins slashed payroll by $30 million. Largely due to that decision, the Twins missed the postseason in 2024 despite holding a 90% chance to make the playoffs in mid-August, per FanGraphs.
Then, the Pohlad family announced they were seeking to sell the team in October 2024. It appeared Justin Ishbia was going to buy the club last offseason before he stopped his pursuit to enter a long-term agreement with the Chicago White Sox, which was disappointing for Twins fans, but they at least had hopes that a sale of the team would occur soon.
However, the Pohlads ended up not selling the team, likely due to the team's roughly $500 million debt. Instead, they added three minority investor groups: Glick Family Investments, George G. Hicks and Minnesota Wild majority owner Craig Leipold.
Tom Pohlad's comments are refreshing but mean nothing if Twins don't spend more
Pohlad's recent comments were refreshing to hear, as the Twins brass haven't taken much accountability for the club's regression. It appears the Pohlads made the right decision to have Tom succeed his younger brother Joe as the team's control person.
Still, while Tom's comments were refreshing to hear, they don't really hold any weight if the Twins aren't going to make any big moves. Sure, adding Victor Caratini, Taylor Rogers and Eric Orze make the team better. But if the Twins really want to make fans happy, they'll sign a marquee free agent or make a big trade, which is unlikely to occur. Although they were rumored to be interested in trading for All-Star righty Freddy Peralta, but who knows how interested they really were.