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: Twins could sell soon, Rays write another letter

The Twins might have new owners soon, the Rays write another off-base letter, and there’s a fight among Padres owners that’s now in court.

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A real ownership-based version of the notes column today. Back in mid-October, it was reported that the Minnesota Twins were looking to sell, finally freeing the league from the Pohlads, a family that at one time was the wealthiest in the league — yes, even wealthier than George Steinbrenner back when he owned the Yankees — and has spent its decades in the game pretending that’s not true.

It’s just a few months later, but hey look at that, the Twins might even be sold by Opening Day in 2025, according to Dan Hayes at The Athletic. There’s a “robust market” per that report, so there are no concerns a deal can’t be put in place in the next few months. Which is funny, since if you ask a bunch of MLB owners about the business of owning a team, they’ll tell you that it’s not a good investment and not a place to make money. Famously, the wealthiest people around love to spend money on things that won’t make them a profit, so this is a confusing turn of events for those of us without critical thinking skills or a shred of skepticism to cling to.

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