Will the Minnesota Twins be sold? What is the value of the MLB franchise?
Among the more successful clubs in MLB during the last forty years, the Minnesota Twins could soon be on the market for what could be seen as a steal.
From Kirby Puckett all the way back to Jim Perry in the 1930s, the Minnesota Twins have seen some legendary players grace their roster and it’s with that in mind that one can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia when reflecting on the idea that the club could soon be sold.
The Pohlad family explores the sale of Minnesota Twins
It’s been 40 years since the Pohlad family took control of the Minnesota Twins but as we all know, nothing lasts forever. Indeed, according to reports on Thursday morning, the Pohlads are currently exploring the sale of the franchise. It is understood that the family has retained the services of the investment bank Allen & Company for the purpose of facilitating the deal.
“Our family reached a decision this summer to explore selling the Twins,” said executive chair Joe Pohlad. The Twins have of course been part of the family’s portfolio since 1984, when financier Carl Pohlad purchased the team from Calvin Griffith for the modest sum of $44 million. The Griffith family had owned the franchise since 1920 when Clark Griffith bought a controlling interest in the Washington Senators, a team that would see three iterations of itself with the first becoming the Texas Rangers and the second the Minnesota Twins (1960).
In the time that the Pohlads have maintained stewardship, the Twins have won two World Series titles, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987 and then the Atlanta Braves in 1991. It should also be said that the franchise avoided contraction in the early 2000s after several of the owners of other franchises voted 28-2 to eliminate two teams from the league: The Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos, who incidentally became the Washington Nationals in 2005 and in so doing brought baseball back to the capital where the Twins’ story started. According to Forbes, the Twins are valued at just under $1.5 billion.