Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins ownership is reportedly getting closer to selling the team.

Per The Athletic's Dan Haynes, the club has a "robust market" and could be sold in full by Opening Day.

"We've been pleased with the level of interest, not surprisingly," a source told Haynes. "The goal is to pick a winner before Opening Day."

Per Haynes, a handful of buyers have contacted the Twins in recent weeks "to gain access to the club's confidential financial picture" and MLB has begun looking into potential owners.

"There's a lot of people within geographic striking distance, whether they're from the Twin Cities or not," a source told Haynes. "It's a solid ballclub that frankly can be purchased at a price that is less than astronomical."

Haynes reported that the sale of the Twins would be in full and have an immediate takeover, differing from the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2021 to a group with Alex Rodriguez and others.

Haynes also noted that while there isn't much information about those interested in purchasing the Twins, Phoenix Suns minority owner Justin Ishbia is interested. Ishbia also owns the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and Nashville Soccer Club of the MLS.

After the Twins find a buyer for the team, MLB owners would then have to vote on whether to permit the sale with a three-quarters vote of owners being required.

The Pohlad Family, which has owned the Twins for more than 40 years, announced in October that they would explore the sale of the team. The announcement followed the conclusion of an 82-80 season that saw Minnesota miss the postseason for the third time in the last four years.

After missing the playoffs for the third time in the last four years, the Minnesota Twins could be on the verge of a major change.

The Pohlad family, which owns the Twins, announced Thursday in a statement it intends to explore the sale of the franchise:

According to Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, the Pohlad family has retained investment bank Allen & Company to explore the possibility of selling the franchise. Sportico values the Twins to be worth $1.7 billion.

The Pohlad family has owned the Twins for the last forty years, making it the fourth-longest-tenured ownership in MLB behind the New York Yankees (1973), Chicago White Sox (1981) and Philadelphia Phillies (1981).

Soshnick and Badenhausen noted that team sales in MLB have become a rarity, with only five since the Los Angeles Dodgers were sold for $2.15 billion in 2012. Most recently, the Baltimore Orioles were sold to a consortium led by David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion in 2023. In 2020, Steve Cohen set an MLB record by paying $2.42 billion to purchase the New York Mets.

The Pohlad family saw early success upon purchasing the Twins, winning the World Series twice in the first eight years of ownership. However, after winning the 1991 title, Minnesota didn't make the playoffs again until 2002 and made just 10 postseason appearances over the next 22 years.

The Twins appeared to be headed for a second straight trip to the playoffs after 2023's run to the ALDS, but they went 12-26 down the stretch on their way to finishing with an 82-80 record, falling short of a wild-card spot. General manager Thad Levine announced last week that he was departing the organization, but the club will retain Rocco Baldelli as manager for a seventh season.

If the Pohlad family finds the right price for the franchise, it appears that the Twins will be embarking on a new era soon.

The Minnesota Twins were 17 games above .500 and cruising to their second consecutive playoff appearance on Aug. 17.

Until they weren't.

Minnesota is 12-26 in the last 38 games, in fourth place in the American League Central and officially eliminated from the playoffs. And it is going to take Twins manager Rocco Baldelli a long time to get over it.

"This will bother me forever," Baldelli said Saturday, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. "There will be no way around that. I will think about it a lot and I will use it to motivate myself in a lot of different ways going forward, because I never want to experience that again."

Despite missing the playoffs, Baldelli is expected to return as Twins manager in 2025, per The Athletic's Dan Hayes.

Nightengale noted Minnesota had a 90 percent chance to make the playoffs six weeks ago but instead collapsed following some questionable roster decisions.

"It's an embarrassment worn at all levels of the organization," he wrote. "Ownership cut payroll by more than $30 million after the Twins advanced to the AL Division Series in last year's playoffs. The front office whiffed on many of its additions and failed to bolster the roster at the trade deadline."

Whether the collapse inspires the front office to make critical additions during the upcoming offseason remains to be seen, but Baldelli was not happy with the situation.

This is his sixth year managing the organization, and it has been to the playoffs in three of them and finished above .500 in four of them. He is helping build a standard for the American League Central team, but that standard was missing down the stretch this season.

As a result, the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals will join the Cleveland Guardians as three playoff teams from an American League Central that will have the Twins in bounce-back mode next season.

The Minnesota Twins released former Coastal Carolina catcher and sixth-round draft pick Derek Bender after he reportedly told opposing batters which pitches would be thrown in Low-A competition, Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan reported for ESPN.

The incident reportedly occurred during pitcher Ross Dunn's start in the latter half of a Sept. 6 double-header between the Twins' affiliate Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and Detroit Tigers' affiliate Lakeland Flying Tigers, per McDaniel and Passan.

Bender "told multiple hitters" for the Flying Tigers which "specific pitch" Dunn was throwing, sources told McDaniel and Passan. Coaches for the Flying Tigers informed the Mighty Mussels coaching staff about the tips after the game, the ESPN reporters wrote.

Dunn was pulled after allowing five hits, including a home run, along with four earned runs and a walk in 1.2 innings.

The Flying Tigers won the outing 6-0, qualifying for the Florida State League Playoffs while eliminating the Mighty Mussels from the playoff picture.

According to McDaniel and Passan, sources said that Bender "had told teammates he wanted the season to be over," and that he had spent the previous two games "in the team's bullpen instead of his typical place in the dugout."

The Twins selected Bender with the No. 188 pick of the 2024 draft after three years as a catcher and first baseman for Coastal Carolina. He hit .320/.422/.520 with 11 home runs in 60 games during his final college season.

Bender signed with the Twins in July for $297,500, slightly below the slot value for his pick of $320,800, per Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. McDaniel and Passan reported that he will retain his entire bonus despite being cut.

Bender split his first Low-A season between catcher and first base, playing eight games as catcher and 11 in the infield. He slashed .200/.273/.333 with two doubles, two home runs and a stolen base in 19 games for the Mighty Mussels.

The Minnesota Twins' game against the Atlanta Braves had an early delay due to lightning in the area, but fans at Target Field were treated to a breathtaking night sky.

The Twins posted a photo of the reddish sky with lightning bolts over the outfield:

Unfortunately for the Twins, it was the Braves who received a power charge from the lightning up above. Atlanta followed up a four-run first inning with five more runs in the second to take a 9-1 lead over Minnesota.

Braves first baseman Matt Olson launched a three-run home run in the first and it a two-run double in the second. Catcher Travis d'Arnaud hit a two-run blast in the second as well.

This series is particularly important for both Minnesota and Atlanta, as both teams are clinging to the final wild-card spots in the American League and National League, respectively.

It looks like the Twins will need a recharge if they hope to hold onto their spot.

The Minnesota Twins' 4-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday was a costly one for one fan.

After all, that fan may need to do a shot of olive oil now.

Minnesota's lone run came on a solo homer from Carlos Santana in the fourth inning. It was the first baseman's 16th home run of the year, which seemed rather insignificant at the moment.

But the Twins' official X account gave it more significance by reposting a fan's message from February that said, "I will do a shot of Olive Oil if Santana hits over 15 HRs bro like there is no way y'all are actually expecting this to happen."

Minnesota signed Santana this offseason in a deal that has proven more fruitful than this fan expected.

The 38-year-old is slashing .244/.330/.425 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI for a 67-53 Twins team that is four games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. Minnesota may not win the division, but it is in playoff position in the AL wild-card race.

Perhaps this fan can take the shot of olive oil while watching postseason games in October.

Minnesota Twins fans have to wait no longer.

The team unveiled its City Connect jerseys Monday, with the new threads set to debut in Friday's game against the Oakland Athletics.

The design is inspired by the state's nickname as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."

"Our uniform is soaked in the blues of our water, with subtle shifts from dark to light and back again, like waves weaving across our lakes," the Twins said. "Yellow accents shine like a ray of Minnesota sunlight."

The Nike City Connect jerseys are self-explanatory in that they typically honor the city in which a team plays. Heather Hinkel, the Twins' vice president of brand marketing, explained they took a more expansive view.

"We really wanted to talk about an experience everybody across our state has had," she said to ESPN's Anthony Gharib. "And it's truly that sitting by a water understanding, hearing it come and ripple in and seeing the sunset, that is an experience, no matter who you are, where you're located, that is something that you can experience and find that sense of peace and serenity around the lake."

There are smaller elements of the jerseys that reflect distinct features associated with Minnesota.

The North Star is included in the primary and secondary logos. The state bird, the common loon, is profiled on the sleeve patch. The hats even have a subtle nod to one of Minnesota's most famous celebrities, the late musician Prince.

Some fans might be disappointed the Twins didn't lean more into a Prince-centric theme. The NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves did that one year with their City Edition uniforms, creating something totally unique from their traditional branding.

"People know Prince is from here, but it's not the only thing our state's known for," Hinkel told Gharib. "We actually think our state's more known for how many lakes that we have. And so we felt like if we were going to tell a first story in our City Connect uniform, that we better double down on the essence of our state. But that's not to say Prince isn't off the table for future years."

Using props to celebrate home runs is somewhat common in MLB, but the Minnesota Twins might have one of the strangest celebration props of all time.

After the Twins hit a home run, they toss whichever batter hit it a packaged sausage. Manager Rocco Baldelli explained the strange celebration Sunday, though he didn't offer much of a reason for why a sausage was selected as the prop.

"It's a summer tangy sausage, is what it is. I actually looked at the package yesterday," Baldelli said. "It's bringing us a lot of hits and runs and stuff, so I'm all for it. For anyone that hasn't been following, it's a substantial packaged sausage that (Ryan) Jeffers has been carrying around in his bag and throwing at people when we score runs and hit homers. I'm all for it."

As Baldelli said, the sausage has brought them many hits, leading to a winning streak. The Twins have won their last six games, sweeping their series against the Chicago White Sox and winning the first two games in a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The runs were plentiful in Saturday's win, as Minnesota handled business 16-5 behind three home runs.

The Twins got off to a slow start this season, but thanks to the win streak they've reached .500 at 13-13 on the year. The club will count on its home run sausage to keep the magic going.

The Minnesota Twins placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a right oblique strain, according to ESPN.com.

Correa suffered the injury during Friday's 8-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers, as he grabbed his side during his at-bat in the third inning. Correa struck out and was then removed from the game.

The 29-year-old veteran was off to a strong start this season, slashing .306/.432/.444 with one home run, four RBI and five runs scored in 11 games.

A two-time All-Star, one-time Gold Glove Award winner and one-time World Series champion, Correa is in the midst of his third season with the Twins.

Correa spent his first seven MLB seasons as a member of the Houston Astros after they took him first overall in the 2012 MLB draft, and he was a key part of them making six playoff appearances and three trips to the World Series during that time.

After enjoying one of his best seasons in 2021 with a .279 average, 26 homers and 92 RBI, Correa signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins in free agency.

Following the 2022 campaign, Correa opted out, and he had agreements in place with the San Francisco Giants and then the New York Mets, but both of them fell through due to concerns about his medical history.

That ultimately led to Correa signing a six-year, $200 million deal to return to the Twins.

Correa helped the Twins win the American League Central and reach the playoffs last season by slashing .230/.312/.399 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI.

Minnesota is off to a slow start this season at 4-7, but Correa has been the least of the team's issues.

Among players who have appeared in at least two games this season, Correa is second on the team in batting average, tied for first in runs scored and tied for third in RBI. He is also tied for the team lead with 11 hits.

Correa represents the second major offensive loss the Twins have experienced already early in the 2024 season, as third baseman Royce Lewis was placed on the IL with a quad injury after just one game.

After Correa left Friday's game, he was replaced by Willi Castro. The speedster, who stole 33 bases last season, is hitting just .103 so far this season.

In addition to Castro, utility man Kyle Farmer will likely receive an uptick in playing time while Correa is out. The 33-year-old veteran has finished each of the past three seasons with double-digit home runs, but he is hitting just .063 with no homers and one RBI through eight appearances this season.