Twins vow not to cut payroll again in 2025, but Pohlad dodges questions

The Twins claim that their $130 million payroll will not decrease next year.

Sep 1, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A full moon rises over the Minnesota Twins logo in a game between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox at Target Field. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

After controversially slashing their payroll by nearly $30 million last offseason, the Twins have said that their roster spending won't be reduced again in 2025. Team sources told multiple beat writers that they "don't anticipate further payroll cuts" heading into next season. The Twins' payroll was at roughly $130 million this year, 19th-most in the league.

Team source said the #MNTwins don't anticipate further payroll cuts for the 2025 season after reducing the budget by $30 million this past offseason.

Twins spent about $130m this season.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) September 29, 2024

Even if the Twins stay true to their word and don't cut payroll further, there's very little reason to believe it will be increased after a season where attendance fell and revenue was lost from a TV broadcast situation that remains murky.

Joe Pohlad, the Twins' owner and executive chair, was asked about next year's payroll by The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman and declined to get into it, saying "we will have a better product on the field next year."

Pohlad was also asked about the decision to cut payroll last offseason.

"As I reflect on my role in all of this, we were at an all-time high last year," he said (via Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press). “Fans were all in. Players were all in. We were headed down a great direction and I had to make a very difficult business decision but that’s just the reality of my work. I have a business to run, and it comes with tough decisions and that’s what I had to do. I wouldn’t make any other decision."

Gleeman pressed Pohlad on whether or not a sports team needs to be "treated as a typical business," and didn't get much of an answer.

I asked #MNTwins owner Joe Pohlad about payroll and why the team is treated as just another typical business.

Here's a full transcript of my question, his response, and two follow-up questions that I asked after hearing it. pic.twitter.com/wqHH7Hfxcx

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) September 29, 2024

The Twins cutting payroll last offseason led directly to a weaker roster being put on the field this season, as they had to part ways with former All-Stars Sonny Gray and Jorge Polanco while not pursuing any significant external free agents. The front office, given less money to work with, also whiffed on all of its moves outside of signing Carlos Santana.

The end result was perhaps the worst collapse in Twins history, as they finished 12-27 and missed the playoffs after starting 70-53. Injuries, underperformance, and a lack of depth all caught up to the Twins at the same time. It's impossible to know for sure, but one imagines that an extra $30 million to be spent last offseason could've gone a long way in making the outcome of this season a different one.