Baseball agent Scott Boras: New Twins ownership should bring in a 'very refreshed view'

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 6, 2024

Published in Baseball

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SAN ANTONIO – There is no timeline for a new ownership group to purchase the Minnesota Twins, which the Pohlad family announced was up for sale in October, but baseball agent Scott Boras expects a new owner will bring excitement to the sport.

“The great thing about franchises, I think, is when you see them change ownership, you see someone come in that has a very refreshed view about why they bought the team,” said Boras, who represents several Twins players including Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Jhoan Duran, Ryan Jeffers and Chris Paddack.

Four teams — the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins — have been sold within the past seven years, all for more than $1 billion. The Mets dramatically increased their payroll to record levels under Steve Cohen, a hedge fund manager. The Orioles and Royals upped their spending in the past year after long rebuilds.

“I realize it’s an investment, but they understand now that I don’t want to walk around my city and have my last name changed, because I understand my last name is now ‘winner’ or ‘loser,’” Boras said. “I don’t think any ownership ever realizes that until they buy the teams, until they are involved in the sport. Then all of a sudden, they understand that regardless of their great business success that allowed them to buy that team, their presence in our country is probably most noted for the behavior of that team they just purchased.”

The Twins will maintain payroll in the “same area that we were last year,” confirmed Derek Falvey, the team’s president of baseball of operations, at the league’s annual general managers meetings. Their estimated $131 million payroll during the 2024 season ranked 19th in the majors, according to FanGraphs’ calculations.

Falvey said it’s still “pretty early” in the sale process and the front office was instructed to operate as normal. Typically, the sale process takes at least six months to identify potential buyers, negotiate terms and receive approval from other MLB owners.

The Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels were put on the market in recent years, but their owners later opted not to sell. The Cleveland Guardians sold a 25% minority stake to David Blitzer in 2022, and the terms included an option to become a majority owner six years later.

“The sale situation, it’s very unique for us,” Falvey said. “The Pohlads have owned the team for a really long time. There are a lot of people who have worked in this organization for them for a really long time. … We feel like we have a great organization. Hopefully, our future owner feels that way too.”

Boras didn’t expect uncertainty around TV deals to affect spending this winter, which he called “last year’s news.” The Twins will likely be the first team sold to new ownership while their TV rights are under MLB’s new distribution model. The league set up its own cable and streaming options for teams without a regional sports network.

There were three teams under MLB’s TV distribution model last year, and there will be at least six in 2025.

“Clubs have been offered contracts from RSNs and they rejected them,” said Boras, who doesn’t believe the changing TV landscape will affect the valuations of teams. “They’re building their own platforms. They are taking different methods for streaming. We saw that in Texas and Milwaukee. They’re offered money, but they figure they can do better with other elements. That should tell you about the evolution of their thought, how they feel going forward with streaming and what that platform means to them.”

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