Notes: Twins ownership, Padres payroll

The Twins lost out on new owners who might end up owning division rivals instead, while the Padres are… well, uh. What are they doing?

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Remember back six or so weeks ago, when the Twins were expecting that they’d have new owners in place by Opening Day? Those plans might have changed, as the potential owner the current ones, the Pohlads, had been interacting with instead pulled out of the running. The reason? To increase their investment as minority owners in the White Sox.

Billionaire brothers Justin and Mat Ishbia were apparently the only ones that the Twins had engaged with to the point of their already being vetted by both the team and MLB, but they ended up choosing the White Sox, instead. This makes a couple of things clear: the Ishbias were considering buying the Twins because they were available, but apparently didn’t have a strong attachment to that franchise, specifically. A larger investment in the White Sox coming now tells us that the pair likely sees themselves as the future owners of that franchise: Jerry Reinsdorf is 88 years old, you know, and while he’s pure evil, it’s not like he’s immortal or anything. Probably.

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Notes: Brewers and the World Series, A’s in Vegas timetable

The owner of the Brewers had a quote you just have to stare at for a minute, and Rob Manfred talks about the projected A’s future

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Now here’s a fun quote that surely won’t come back to haunt Brewers’ principal owner Mark Attanasio:

“Is my job to win a World Series,” Attanasio said, “or is my job to provide a summer of entertainment and passion and a way for families to come together?”

That’s from a Bob Nightengale story over at USA Today, on why the Brewers refuse to spend “despite decade of NL Central domination.” First off, dominating the NL Central is a lot like an elementary gym teacher kicking the ass of every kindergartener at basketball. It doesn’t mean he stands a chance against a real team. Second, oh boy, Mark Attanasio.

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Notes: IRS priorities, sports owners taxes, the cost of steel beams

It’s bad news all around. Well, okay, at least one thing is kind of funny if you aren’t a sports team owner.

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Let’s do a Friday roundup based on the idea that the return of Donald Trump to the White House means some potential changes are in store on the sports side of things. None of these issues are full-blown stories on their own at this point, but there’s something to watch for with each of them.

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Do MLB owners want a salary cap, or for everyone to believe that’s true?

Like with free agency, you have to think of why certain positions are stated in public.

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There’s been a whole lot of discussion lately, from the ownership and league side, anonymously and with names attached, to the idea of both an MLB lockout in 2026 when the current collective bargaining agreement expires, and the desire for a salary cap being part of the impetus for said lockout. I’ve already written about the lockout portion of things, but I wanted to reiterate something this morning, given that the owners wrapped their winter meetings in Florida, where the subject of discussion was often the game’s economics.

Evan Drellich wrote a story last week about part of that, headlined, “MLB owners debate push for salary cap at summit this week”. A key section from that piece, for our purposes:

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Notes: Fay Vincent, Sacramento A’s, SABR Awards

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Fay Vincent, former Major League Baseball commissioner, passed away on Saturday at the age of 86. He had been receiving treatment for bladder cancer, according to ESPN, but complications in that treatment led to his death. MLB released a statement announcing Vincent’s passing on Sunday.

Vincent took over as MLB commissioner for Bart Giamatti in 1989, following his sudden death just five months into his tenure. Vincent has had his name come up in this digital pages on more than one occasion, as he was the commissioner during the 1990 lockout, and the stepping stone then-owner Bud Selig used to grab the commissionership for himself.

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