MINNEAPOLIS — It's been a whirlwind day, Twins fans.
After weeks of calls from some to sell the franchise, the team's ownership has announced they plan to do just that – or at the very least, explore the idea.
"Very surprised," John Bonnes, founder of Twins Daily, said. "You could say this caught everybody flatfooted."
That announcement comes with plenty of questions. Will the team sell? If so, who will be the new owners?
Could the team move? Will payroll increase, and will new ownership be more aggressive?
"It means everything's up in the air, right?" Bonnes said.
"For the last 30 years, we've been complaining about baseball's ownership of the Twins or the Pohlad's ownership of the Twins," he continued. "This is a chance for a clean slate on that."
The franchise is now valued at nearly $1.5 billion, according to Forbes. Lisa Kihl is a professor at the University of Minnesota and director at the Global Institute for Responsible Sport Organization and says whoever owns the team next should stay committed to the bigger picture off the field.
"Understanding that they're a fabric of this community, and they're an important fabric of the community, and they're also important partners of the different pro teams in the community," Kihl said.
That includes initiatives the Pohlads have worked on over their tenure.
"You think of all the initiatives, not only just for youth participating and getting used to games but how much they've invested in communities in terms of developing fields, developing coaches," Kihl said. "You know, those kinds of initiatives are really being thoughtful about the details of how you develop youth and fan engagement, but also around diversity."
Bonnes says a big thing on the minds of Twins fans now will likely be how aggressive new ownership will be – if the team is actually sold.
"You often see a sort of honeymoon period while new ownership takes over that they are willing to invest a little bit more on the team and try and get sort of the community and such on their side," he said. "Make a good first impression."
