Twins owners opt to halt the sale and keep the club in the family, adding new investors instead

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins are no longer for sale, executive chair Joe Pohlad announced Wednesday on behalf of his family.

After exploring a variety of options since publicizing the sale 10 months ago, the Pohlad family will remain the principal owner of the club and add new investors instead. Carl Pohlad, a banking magnate and the late grandfather of Joe Pohlad, bought the Twins in 1984 for $44 million.

“For more than four decades, our family has had the privilege of owning the Minnesota Twins. This franchise has become part of our family story, as it has for our employees, our players, this community, and Twins fans everywhere," Joe Pohlad said in his announcement. “Over the past several months, we explored a wide range of potential investment and ownership opportunities. Our focus throughout has been on what’s best for the long-term future of the Twins. We have been fully open to all possibilities.”

Pohlad said the family was in the process of adding two “significant” limited partnership groups to bring in fresh ideas, bolster critical partnerships and shape the long-term vision of the franchise that relocated to Minnesota in 1961 after originating as the Washington Senators. Details about the new investors were being kept private until Major League Baseball approves the transactions, Pohlad said.

Financial analysis earlier this year by Forbes valued the franchise at $1.5 billion, ranked 23rd in MLB. Sportico ($1.7 billion) and CNBC ($1.65 billion) pegged the Twins higher.

The Pohlads hired Allen & Company, a New York-based investment bank, to direct the sale and keep inquiries confidential. Multiple published reports identified Justin Ishbia, a part owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, as the front-runner. But the Chicago White Sox announced last month that Ishbia was becoming a limited partner in a deal that provides a runway for him to become controlling owner.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged during the All-Star break, without naming him directly, that Ishbia's decision sidetracked the process.

“There will be a transaction," Manfred said. "You just need to be patient while they rework.”

The Twins are on track for their lowest attendance total in 16 seasons at Target Field, and an ownership-mandated payroll reduction last year in light of decreased regional television revenue, among other factors, has contributed to a dissatisfied customer base. The Twins traded 10 players off their roster leading up to the July 31 deadline, furthering the frustration.

Word that the Pohlads are staying put certainly won't help the morale of Minnesota baseball fans, who've been waiting for another World Series title since 1991 and saw the investment in the roster plunge right after an American League Central title in 2023. The Twins won a playoff series then, too, their first in 21 years.

“We see and hear the passion from our partners, the community, and Twins fans. That passion inspires us," Pohlad said. "This ownership group is committed to building a winning team and culture for this region, one that Twins fans are proud to cheer for.”

Speaking before Minnesota's game at the New York Yankees, manager Rocco Baldelli said he was happy to hear the Pohlad family would be staying involved.

“One of the main reasons why I came to this organization in the first place was because of the Pohlads and the types of owners they are and how they treat people, so just start there,” Baldelli said. “They’ve been a big part of my stay here and lot of the successes that we’ve had here as well.”

The Twins began the season ranked 17th in player payroll at a little more than $142.8 million, but their trading spree last month lopped about $26 million from that figure. Shortstop Carlos Correa was sent to the Houston Astros in a pure salary dump that reunited the three-time All-Star with his original team, which inherited $70 million of the more than $103 million that remained on his contract.

Pohlad, in an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune published immediately after the announcement, said he understands the bad feelings from the fans and looks forward to helping rebuild the brand and the roster. He said one of the investment groups is made up of Minnesotans and the other is a family based on the East Coast.

Pohlad also said the teardown of the roster was not driven by a request from ownership to further cut costs.

“It certainly set us up for more flexibility, but they were primarily baseball decisions," Pohlad told the Star Tribune.

AP freelance writer Larry Fleisher in New York contributed to this report.

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Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli watches against the Detroit Tigers in the seventh inning during a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

FILE - Minnesota Twins executive vice president Joe Pohlad speaks to fans and media during the baseball team's annual fan fest at Target Field, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

FILE - MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, center, talks with Minnesota Twins executive vice president Joe Pohlad, left, and Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey before Game 2 of an AL wild-card baseball playoff series between the Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.

Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.

“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”

Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.

Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.

“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.

Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”

He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.

Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”

A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.

“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”

Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.

China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.

China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.

Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.

Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)