The Minnesota Twins haven’t made any blockbuster player transactions this offseason, but the club officially announced an ownership change on Wednesday via social media.
“Following approval by Major League Baseball, the Pohlad family today proudly announced the addition of limited partners to the Minnesota Twins ownership group,” the statement reads. “Principle investors include Glick Family Investments and George C. Hicks, investing alongside several prominent Minnesota business leaders. Craig Leipold, majority owner and principal investor in Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE), is also joining independently as a limited partner.”
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Glick Family Investments is a New York-based private equity firm, while Hicks is a Minnesota native and self-described “lifelong Twins fan.” Additionally, Leipold is the majority owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
Former Executive Chair Joe Pohlad will be replaced by his brother Tom in “overseeing the Twins organization,” pending MLB approval. He will also succeed Jim Pohlad as the “Control Person and serving as the primary liason to the league.”
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This change will aid the team get out of debt, per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes.
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“Selling more than 20 percent of the franchise to three minority partnership groups at a $1.75 billion valuation, the Pohlad family announced Wednesday they finalized a transaction that helps a club $500 million in debt return to a sound financial footing while also requiring the addition of three seats to the team’s ownership advisory board, league sources told The Athletic,” he wrote.
Hayes’ article describes how the club originally fell into debt because COVID prevented it from profiting after its 2019 campaign, when it won the AL Central and made the AL Division Series for the first time since 2010. From there, low fan attendance and the cost of paying their employees and minor-league players exacerbated the issue.
Minnesota experiencing financial relief means there’s no better time for it to acquire a star player alongside outfielder Byron Buxton. The team signed star shortstop Carlos Correa after the 2021 season, but only made the playoffs once with him before trading him to the Houston Astros at the 2025 trade deadline.
However, the Twins can’t let their lack of success with Correa prevent them from being aggressive. The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians have finished ahead of them in the AL Central in each of the last two seasons, and they won’t fix that by being complacent with their current roster. Plus, more winning will lead to better fan attendance.