Optimism typically runs wild in spring training. However, none of that is happening with the Minnesota Twins right now.
A simple social media post will trigger thoughts about payroll or selling the team. At a time when fans usually talk about whether Royce Lewis will finally click or if Byron Buxton can stay healthy, their thoughts wander off the field and toward the Pohlad suite.
Taking over from his brother Joe, Tom Pohlad is trying to succeed where his other family members have failed.
He’s trying to win over the fans.
It’s a tall task for a family that has used the franchise as their personal penny stock and fans’ feelings as a speed bag for decades. But if Tom Pohlad really wants to be different, he needs to put some investment behind his words.
To his credit, Pohlad has said the right things since he took over. During his introductory press conference, he described himself as a “go big or go home” guy. A few hours later, he admitted to WCCO Radio’s Chad Hartman that cutting payroll after Minnesota’s playoff run in 2023 was a mistake.
They also extended an olive branch to fans by introducing $2 pregame beers and a limited-time offer on a Twins Pass, a promotion that gives ballpark access to every game at Target Field this season for $3 per game if they sign up early. He even called former season ticket holders who had canceled their tickets in an attempt to mend fences and gauge the fan base’s temperature.
While those phone calls included some words we can’t print, they’re small steps in the right direction. Still, they’re not enough to convince fans that things are different. The biggest contradiction came when Pohlad spoke after the president of baseball and business operations, Derek Falvey, stepped down last month.
Yes, our payroll is down from last year. I think there’s still investments to be made between now and Opening Day. And I’d also say that, at some point I’d love to get off this ‘payroll’ thing for a second and let’s get halfway through the year, to the end of the year, and let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September. And if we’re doing that, I think we’re gonna be in position to grow payroll the following year, and the following year. That’s what I hope we can start focusing on.
Pohald’s comments were reminiscent of Tim Robinson’s “We’re all trying to find the guy who did this” sketch from I Think You Should Leave.
Money doesn’t guarantee a World Series championship. Still, the biggest thing fans want is a little effort.
You could try to talk yourself into the moves the Twins made since their fire sale in July, which was mostly a salary dump. Giving Brooks Lee, Matt Wallner, and Royce Lewis a chance to play every day, while creating opportunities for top prospects like Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper to come up during the season, creates some upside.
The Twins also already have a strong top of the rotation in Pablo López and Joe Ryan. If Bailey Ober rebounds from a poor season in 2025 and the younger arms step up, the Twins can contend for a division title in the AL Central, where only the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals spent money in the offseason.
But fans have felt that the front office hasn’t made most of their decisions for baseball reasons. When the Twins slashed their payroll for the first time after the 2023 season, they told people it was an effort to “right-size their business.” Similar crossroads led the Pohlad family to triple down on the cuts, resulting in Minnesota’s $106 million payroll for the upcoming season.
The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman also noted that Minnesota’s payroll is $75 million below the MLB average, and the Twins haven’t been more than $41 million below the average since they were introducing the “Get to Know ‘Em” Twins in the year 2000.
Even if payroll doesn’t guarantee a championship, at least it shows commitment. That’s why fans were excited when the Twins signed Carlos Correa in free agency in 2022. You could argue it didn’t work out, but it was a step in the right direction that went a mile backward when they included Correa in a salary dump during last year’s fire sale.
Everything the Twins have done recently suggests Pohlad is more of a transitional owner. He could be cleaning up the mess of a $500 million-plus debt so they can sell the team after what could be a lengthy lockout beginning in 2027.
For all the positives the Twins have going into next season, there are some big negatives. First base remains an issue, even after they’ve signed Josh Bell and Victor Caratini to play there. The bullpen remains a random cast of characters, headlined by Liam Hendriks and Taylor Rogers, a pair of former mid-2010s Twins.
The Twins sent some international money to acquire Anthony Banda from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Still, other than the signing of Rogers, they’ve resorted to minor league deals with Hendriks and left-handed veteran Andrew Chafin.
There are also depth issues at shortstop and the back end of the starting rotation. That could get worse if Ober or Zebby Matthews don’t rebound from tough 2025 seasons or the young pitchers, including Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, don’t take a step forward.
While there’s still time for the Twins to make a move or two before Opening Day, they’re unlikely to make the significant investment fans want. Perhaps that’s signing Joe Ryan or Ryan Jeffers to an extension, or it’s making a significant trade that adds a jolt of enthusiasm to an apathetic fan base.
For now, it seems like the only thing the Tom Pohlad era has done is further cut into the payroll and hurt the psyche of Twins fans. Until something changes, there won’t be more optimism surrounding this team.