All Things 2024-25 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
because they think if fans stay away from the games, that will somehow compel the Pohlads to sell the team. and the new owners will come in and spend lots of money.

LaVelle's point is that you cannot assume that new owners would automatically come in and jack up the payroll. It is certainly possible that new owners would look at the revenue and expenditures, and come to the same conclusion at the Pohlads.

look, it all depends on who would potentially buy the team. maybe the new owners wouldn't give a bleep if they lose money running a baseball team. but you can't assume that.

and in the same vein, you can't assume that the new owners wouldn't want to relocate the team if they think the Twin Cities is not a good baseball market.
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My interest fell by half this season and will probably go down a lot further next. This makes it more interesting. That's where the team is right now. Drama is the most interesting aspect.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
My 10 to 15 games each year went down to zero this year. Wasn't all related to payroll, but it sure didn't help. Short of someone like Walker Jenkins rocketing up to the majors, I'm not exactly brimming with excitement to go back at this point.
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Honestly the obscene beer prices keep me from going to Target Field more than I used to, not the overall salary or the product on the field.

Some pretty dreadful teams in the '10s, I would still get to the ballpark 8-12 times per season.

I went 4 times this season, that was plenty. One was as guest/freebie, but still spent over $50 on 2 beers, a brat & peanuts. Not exactly gluttonous.
 






BleedGopher said:
WOW!!!


WIN TWINS!!
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Interesting notes per the article:

- Exploring does not ensure anything. Both the Nationals and Angels were pulled off the market recently.
- This would only be the 3rd group since the the franchises founding in 1901, after the Griffiths and Pohlads.
- Only the Yankees (Steinbrenners) and White Sox (Reinsdorf) have had longer ownership group tenures.
 

as Ope notes, in order to sell the team, there has to be a willing buyer.

and - if that buyer does not have ties to MN, will they offer any guarantees that the team will stay in MN?

at this point, we just don't know.

a new owner might come in here and increase the payroll. or a new owner might decide to try and move the team.

BTW: was reading an article on Twins Daily. it made the point that the Twins will earn a lot less in local TV revenue as they move to a new model that depends on selling streaming packages. So - the cut in payroll for the '24 season was quite likely a pre-emptive move in anticipation of the decline in local TV revenue that will take place over the next several years. and that is why sources are saying no further cuts in payroll - because the payroll has been adjusted to account for the pending drop in revenue.
 

and this:

for the last couple of years, I've seen lots of people on Twitter, message boards, etc saying repeatedly that "If the Twins had a streaming package, I'd sign up for it today!" that includes a lot of the Twins Daily crowd and the Skor North crew.

well, now it's time to put your money where your keyboard is. next year, all the people who said they would sign up for streaming will actually have an opportunity to do that.

and I am predicting right now that a lot of those people - when it comes time to actually write a check or put that charge on their credit card - will decide that "it's too expensive."

the Padres have 40,000 people paying for their streaming package. I'll predict right now that the Twins will be lower than that figure in 2025.

before you ask - I am assuming that the Twins' games will be available on cable TV or satellite in MN. If I can get the games on cable or a comparable streaming service, I will do so. I would only purchase the DTC streaming package if that is my only option to watch the Twins.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
as Ope notes, in order to sell the team, there has to be a willing buyer.

and - if that buyer does not have ties to MN, will they offer any guarantees that the team will stay in MN?

at this point, we just don't know.

a new owner might come in here and increase the payroll. or a new owner might decide to try and move the team.

BTW: was reading an article on Twins Daily. it made the point that the Twins will earn a lot less in local TV revenue as they move to a new model that depends on selling streaming packages. So - the cut in payroll for the '24 season was quite likely a pre-emptive move in anticipation of the decline in local TV revenue that will take place over the next several years. and that is why sources are saying no further cuts in payroll - because the payroll has been adjusted to account for the pending drop in revenue.
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From my understanding, the MLB has to approve any franchise movement and it has to be approved by a plurality/majority of the owners.

My guess, is that based on the history of the team and size of the market, MLB will insist that new ownership stays in MN, as a condition of the sale.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and this:

for the last couple of years, I've seen lots of people on Twitter, message boards, etc saying repeatedly that "If the Twins had a streaming package, I'd sign up for it today!" that includes a lot of the Twins Daily crowd and the Skor North crew.

well, now it's time to put your money where your keyboard is. next year, all the people who said they would sign up for streaming will actually have an opportunity to do that.

and I am predicting right now that a lot of those people - when it comes time to actually write a check or put that charge on their credit card - will decide that "it's too expensive."

the Padres have 40,000 people paying for their streaming package. I'll predict right now that the Twins will be lower than that figure in 2025.

before you ask - I am assuming that the Twins' games will be available on cable TV or satellite in MN. If I can get the games on cable or a comparable streaming service, I will do so. I would only purchase the DTC streaming package if that is my only option to watch the Twins.
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Maybe I read it wrong, but based on the information they released about TV a couple of days ago, it sure sounded like cable/satellite/streaming was pretty much assured.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
From my understanding, the MLB has to approve any franchise movement and it has to be approved by a plurality/majority of the owners.

My guess, is that based on the history of the team and size of the market, MLB will insist that new ownership stays in MN, as a condition of the sale.
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I think with the favorable lease at Target Field, they would be pretty firm to stay in Minneapolis through 2039.

I sort of think the Pohlads are trying to beat the clock before 2 Expansion teams are up for grabs, assuming the A's > Vegas thing is now settled.
 
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Joe Pohlad is not a good business person. I have never seen an organization use up so much good will amongst their paying customers in 12 months as the twins. Heck even delta has recovered in the public eye since their huge meltdown. Honestly it’s a sad day is this sale does happen as I think the original Pohlads supported the twins very well. The new regime has burned it down.
 




From the Parkinglot said:
Joe Pohlad is not a good business person. I have never seen an organization use up so much good will amongst their paying customers in 12 months as the twins. Heck even delta has recovered in the public eye since their huge meltdown. Honestly it’s a sad day is this sale does happen as I think the original Pohlads supported the twins very well. The new regime has burned it down.
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Are you talking about the original Pohlads who tried to sell the team to some clown from Winston/Salem, NC? Or are you talking about the original Pohlads who tried to contract the franchise out of existence?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
as Ope notes, in order to sell the team, there has to be a willing buyer.

and - if that buyer does not have ties to MN, will they offer any guarantees that the team will stay in MN?

at this point, we just don't know.

a new owner might come in here and increase the payroll. or a new owner might decide to try and move the team.

BTW: was reading an article on Twins Daily. it made the point that the Twins will earn a lot less in local TV revenue as they move to a new model that depends on selling streaming packages. So - the cut in payroll for the '24 season was quite likely a pre-emptive move in anticipation of the decline in local TV revenue that will take place over the next several years. and that is why sources are saying no further cuts in payroll - because the payroll has been adjusted to account for the pending drop in revenue.
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In terms of moving the team, it depends almost entirely on the language in the lease. If the language is tight enough and addresses penalties that are sufficiently onerous and/or a buyout is sufficiently expensive, then a move is a lot less likely.
 

I don't think the team is ever moving either, but aside from physically going to games (which the vast majority of fans don't do regularly anyway), it's not very difficult to be a fan of a team that isn't local. This isn't the mid 80s, where the only way to get coverage or watch a team was for them to be in your general area. If I wanted to watch every Pittsburgh Pirates game this season, it wouldn't have been real difficult to accomplish.
 

Ope3 said:
More likely their other business interests are hemorrhaging.
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In the new media world they will be more dependent on gate/concessions as a % of revenue and they managed to alienate the fan base. Plus the new generation seemed mostly uninterested in owning the team.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
as Ope notes, in order to sell the team, there has to be a willing buyer.

and - if that buyer does not have ties to MN, will they offer any guarantees that the team will stay in MN?

at this point, we just don't know.

a new owner might come in here and increase the payroll. or a new owner might decide to try and move the team.

BTW: was reading an article on Twins Daily. it made the point that the Twins will earn a lot less in local TV revenue as they move to a new model that depends on selling streaming packages. So - the cut in payroll for the '24 season was quite likely a pre-emptive move in anticipation of the decline in local TV revenue that will take place over the next several years. and that is why sources are saying no further cuts in payroll - because the payroll has been adjusted to account for the pending drop in revenue.
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I heard someone, Reusse I believe, say that they heard the Twins were set to go to this TV model last year and Manfred/MLB pulled the rug at the last minute and told them to take the deal with Bally because they weren't ready to take on production/distribution for that many teams. So I expect they cut the payroll more than they needed to. However, that makes their refusal to add at the trade deadline that much more absurd.

I'm not worried about them leaving. Their lease at Target Field goes to 2040 and would have massive penalties to get out of. Plus MLB does not want to exit this market.
 

jamiche said:
In terms of moving the team, it depends almost entirely on the language in the lease. If the language is tight enough and addresses penalties that are sufficiently onerous and/or a buyout is sufficiently expensive, then a move is a lot less likely.
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I haven't read the details in a long time, but it's pretty tight. After 10 years fighting to get a stadium, they weren't giving them a lease with any easy outs.
 

Ope3 said:
I think with the favorable lease at Target Field, they would be pretty firm to stay in Minneapolis through 2029.

I sort of think the Pohlads are trying to beat the clock before 2 Expansion teams are up for grabs, assuming the A's > Vegas thing is now settled.
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Pretty sure it's a 30 year lease, not 20.
 



howeda7 said:
In the new media world they will be more dependent on gate/concessions as a % of revenue and they managed to alienate the fan base. Plus the new generation seemed mostly uninterested in owning the team.
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I think your last sentence is the key. The 2nd and now 3rd generation of Pohlad owners, just don't care about enough to see it though.
 

My first joking thought was maybe A-Rod and Lore withdraw their Wolves offer and buy the team.

How would the Twins diehards on here feel about the Roid King owning/running this franchise?
 

I am not suggesting that moving the team is likely. but if you have enough money and good lawyers, you can get out of almost any contract or lease. I'm just saying that it's possible.

but on the broader point - people seem to think that once the evil Pohlads are gone, the new owners will come in and it will be all sunshine and roses, with Birthday Cake for dessert every day.

and maybe it will turn out that way. but there are no guarantees.

just because you want something to happen, that doesn't mean that it will happen.
 

Slim Tubby said:
My first joking thought was maybe A-Rod and Lore withdraw their Wolves offer and buy the team.

How would the Twins diehards on here feel about the Roid King owning/running this franchise?
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I would re-evaluate supporting them at all.

I would rather have the Wilfs. My opinion of the Zygi and family is extremely low.
 

Ope3 said:
I would re-evaluate supporting them at all.

I would rather have the Wilfs. My opinion of the Zygi and family is extremely low.
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owning an MLB team is a very different situation compared to owning an NFL team. In the NFL, with most of the revenue coming from national sources, and a salary cap, it's much easier for teams to make a profit. in MLB, with more of the percentage coming from local sources, and no salary cap, overall profits are a lot lower. in short, being an NFL owner is a lot easier than being an MLB owner.
 

Slim Tubby said:
My first joking thought was maybe A-Rod and Lore withdraw their Wolves offer and buy the team.

How would the Twins diehards on here feel about the Roid King owning/running this franchise?
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Free drugs?
 


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