If you are a Minnesota Twins fan, you might have felt whiplash this week. After months of whispers, reports, and even a very public statement by the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred, that a sale was in the cards, the Pohlad family decided not to go ahead. The team is not changing hands, not now. Instead, the team will remain with the family; however, they will be bringing in a few partners.

Now, on paper, the announcement looks as polished as it comes. Joe Pohlad, in his statement, talked about the privilege it is to own the Twins for more than four decades now. He talked about the community ties and the fresh ideas they are working towards. But if you have been following the saga of the team, it all looks almost fishy.

This is the same team that has gone through payroll cuts; their attendance has been down, and the fire sale of the 10 players all highlighted one thing: a sale. So fans weren’t looking forward to a sentimental letter but were waiting for what’s new and what’s next.

This is when ex-Marlins president David Samson comes in. In his podcast, he reminded the listeners that Manfred was confident of the sale just a month ago,“Rob said, ‘I can tell you with a lot of confidence that there will be a transaction there.’” Samson pointed out that Manfred’s words did align with the valuations in the $1.7 billion arena, the same ballpark as the recent sale of the Orioles or the Rays. However, with Justin Ishbia walking away for a bigger stake at the Chicago White Sox, the deal never happened.

Now Samson has a bigger gripe with the MLB commissioner. For him, Manfred’s habit of putting time limits on deals he doesn’t control doesn’t sit well. “Deadlines with dates are a bad plan… You don’t want to say, ‘I expect the team to be sold by the All-Star Game,’ because there’s only one downside.” For him, when those dates pass without action, it doesn’t just make the commissioner look wrong; it signals a bad picture about the league. In Samson’s view, the Pohlad family might not be shopping the team now, but if someone came tomorrow and offered $1.9 billion, then that “passion” letter that Pohlad wrote would be done and dusted. And for a fan base that is still waiting for a championship from 1991, this stings for sure.

Amid the Chaos, Twins quietly build a farm system to envy

No doubt that this has been a shaky time for the Minnesota Twins. The family’s sudden decision not to sell the team has created havoc in Minnesota. However, here is a twist—while the business side seems like a mess, on the baseball end, Minnesota has quietly built a farm system that others should fear. In fact, the MLB Pipeline mid-season update ranks the Twins’ farm system as the second best in the whole of baseball. The only team above them? Dodgers!

Minnesota has five names in the top 100, which is impressive. They have Walker Jenkins, the outfielder, then catcher Eduardo Tait, second baseman Luke Keaschall and Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Kaelen Culpepper, the shortstop. It’s been a rough stretch for Twins fans lately. Payroll cuts, a looming second straight postseason miss, and the Pohlad family’s sudden decision not to sell the team. But here’s the twist: while the business side feels like a mess, on the baseball side, Minnesota is quietly ahead of almost everyone else.

Now this is huge if you see where they were before. Just two summers ago, the Minnesota Twins ranked no. 17, and the season before, no. 15. And now, they are sitting at No. 2 twice in a row for the rankings. Jenkins, meanwhile, was baseball’s No. 3 overall prospect; however, injuries have slowed him down. However, he is back and looking to get back to being himself. Cullpepper, meanwhile, is having the kind of year that makes one wonder if he is the best prospect they have now.  Meanwhile, the Twins are stocked up with six 2025 draft picks. For now, the big league is struggling, and the ownership drama lingers, but maybe the Twins are indeed making something that could make them dangerous in years to come.