New Twins chairman Joe Pohlad put in his time prior to leadership transition

Publish date: 2024-04-24

After throwing on a newly redesigned Twins jersey over his custom suit, Carlos Correa was mid-twirl when team owner Joe Pohlad blurted out “Fashion Show 2.0.” Nearly eight weeks after unveiling their newest threads and logos in a splashy ceremony at the Mall of America, the Twins officially signed the player they hoped to wear them most.

Correa’s Jan. 11 news conference after finalizing a franchise-record $200 million deal represents a signature moment for an ownership family that already boasts two World Series rings and opening Target Field as crowning achievements in 39 years. But aside from noting the signing was a great way to end his first six weeks as club chairman, Joe Pohlad, who took over from his uncle Jim Pohlad on Nov. 28, minimized his involvement.

Correa: “These are clean.” pic.twitter.com/x6D4JPoppC

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) January 11, 2023

Though he was more involved with the Correa saga than his uncle or grandfather were in past free-agent pursuits, Joe Pohlad, 40, demonstrated how he intends to operate as chairman. While he’ll be the first Pohlad owner to keep an office at the club’s ballpark, he plans to act as his uncle did and trust his top decision-makers. He doesn’t want to be the “annoying owner” who’s always meddling.

During Correa’s free agency, Joe Pohlad received constant updates from Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. He only acted when required.

“I kind of felt like I needed a shower and a drink after such a long process,” Pohlad said with a laugh. “Watching Derek go through it was incredibly impressive. Just given his patience and the consistency with which he navigated this whole process where he sustained the relationship with their team even throughout Carlos’ agreements with the Giants and the Mets, just making sure until it was final-final, we were still in the conversation worst-case scenario. … It takes a special kind of person to do that and it was reassuring for me to know we’ve got the right person in charge.”

The transition from Jim to Joe had been discussed for some time.

The 2022 season was Jim Pohlad’s 39th in the organization after his father Carl Pohlad purchased the team in 1984. Jim and his brothers Bob and Bill are nearing their 70s and are in favor of a younger family member handling the daily operations. The brothers’ discussions have long centered around the right timing in transferring power to the family’s third generation of leadership.

Though Jim Pohlad stepped down from running day-to-day operations, the plan is for him to remain involved as the organization’s control owner. He’ll act as the team’s representative in league matters and other macro duties, including as an advisor for Joe Pohlad.

Earlier this winter, Pohlad celebrated his 15-year anniversary with the Twins. He’s worked in a variety of departments and overseen several numerous projects, including the team’s November rebrand.

Beyond that, Pohlad’s been part of the club’s baseball decision-making processes since Falvey arrived in October 2016.

“I don’t want to minimize the transition, but Joe has been in every conversation I’ve had baseball-wise for the last five-plus years — any time we had any major baseball decisions,” Falvey said. “It’s hard to articulate how incredible the way the Pohlad family works together, how much respect they have for one another and the roles that they play and the respect that each have kind of areas of different businesses that they operate in.”

Joe Pohlad was several years out of college and working in Portland, Ore., in 2006 when he discovered himself repeatedly watching Twins games via MLB’s cable package. Until he’d gone to college, the majority of his life was spent around the organization after his family moved to the Twin Cities in 1987.

For obvious reasons, he thought baseball might be his future.

“I don’t really know anything other than baseball,” Pohlad said. “Baseball is just a part of our life. And now having a family, it’s definitely a part of my kids’ life.”

Pohlad joined the organization in 2007, working in baseball operations as an assistant. From there, he moved into the marketing department before taking a role in ballpark operations, learning how the franchise operated from within.

“We mapped out a path for him that was going to give him exposure,” Twins president Dave St. Peter said. “He’s put in his time, and he’s done it in a way that he wasn’t wearing an ownership hat. He was just being another employee who was part of a broader team. And throughout that time, Joe learned the business at a deeper level. But he also, maybe more importantly, built relationships.”

The time Pohlad spent in baseball ops allowed him to connect with key people in various departments. Over the past five years, those relationships paved the way for more resources to be poured into player development via additional minor-league instructors, including bilingual coaches at every level of the system.

“Joe is one of them,” Twins communications director Dustin Morse said. “He has a pretty good understanding of people’s needs and when it comes across his desk he takes the time to understand what it might take.”

Even though he was the owner’s nephew, coworkers say Pohlad used his sense of humor to help maintain a low profile. If ever the mood was too serious in a budget meeting, Pohlad wasn’t afraid to make a self-deprecating joke to lighten things up.

“He’s not the kind of guy that comes in and tries to command the room,” Joe’s father Bob Pohlad said. “He’s quieter, he’s patient and he builds relationships. … He uses his sense of humor in a very effective way and genuinely so and that allowed him to build the relationships.”

To better prepare for his future, Joe Pohlad branched out by leaving the organization in 2015 to take over as CEO of Go Media, which was the home of Go 96.3 FM, the Twins’ flagship radio station.

While there, Pohlad led a rebrand of 96.3 FM from a classic rock station to a modern alternative and also helped launch a modern hip-hop station (95.3 FM). But overall, the family lost money after purchasing Go and sold the radio station in 2020.

Pohlad isn’t afraid to acknowledge the difficulties he experienced while operating Go. But he also believes the lessons from those trials and tribulations were invaluable experiences.

“I learned the most about my strengths,” Pohlad said. “I learned about what doesn’t work. I learned about patience and I learned about business. Unfortunately, I learned a lot of that through financial failure. Go had a ton of successes in my opinion on the brand side. But the failures came from the business standpoint, from pivoting. We switched gears too often. … By the time we pivoted to Go, we were too deep in the hole to have the patience to stick with it. But I am proud we developed a really strong brand. We had some incredible people that worked there. I look back on it very fondly. I learned a ton and I don’t think I would be as well-rounded without that experience.”

Pohlad returned to the Twins in 2018 as a vice president of brand strategies and growth. In that period, he and St. Peter oversaw major projects like Target Field’s Gate 34 upgrade, the uniform/logo rebrand and a $30 million scoreboard upgrade.

Minutes after news broke that Correa’s Dec. 20 news conference in San Francisco had been postponed, Joe Pohlad was sitting down for an interview with The Athletic in his fourth-floor office above left field. He was clearly curious, but also believed Correa was long gone after a good battle.

As much as they wanted Correa, Pohlad believed the Twins would regroup and move on, starting with the signing of Joey Gallo to be announced later that day.

A week earlier, Pohlad asked Morse about fan reaction on social media after Correa agreed to a deal with San Francisco. Morse asked the executive chairman if he really wanted to know (he did). Morse begrudgingly delivered the phrase “Cheap Pohlads” to his new boss’ face.

“He’s kind of laughing,” Morse said. “He’s got a great sense of humor, self-deprecating. He’s got thick skin. I don’t think you can get him with any of that social media buzz. He doesn’t pay attention to it. Certainly is aware of it.”

Being close to the Twins’ day-to-day operations is a big reason Pohlad opted to keep an office in the team’s stadium. He’s down the hall from Falvey and St. Peter, though he’s already established boundaries, a decision made easier by the trust he has in the team’s leaders.

“I have it in my mind — don’t be that annoying owner where you’re just always popping in and checking in what’s going on,” Pohlad said. “I know that I’m familiar with their process and how they work and the cadence in which they work. And so, when there’s something going on, (Falvey will) come talk to me. But also, when I have a thought, I run it by him. But it’s definitely more of a strategic, big-picture conversation than it is, ‘Hey, should we pursue or trade X, Y, and Z?’”

Because he’s hands-on and social-media savvy, Pohlad is familiar with the criticisms attributed to his family, including fan frustration over the 18-game playoff losing streak.

He’s also attempting to balance finding solutions for a sagging business — ticket sales dropped to 1.8 million last season, down from 2.3 million in 2019 — while appeasing fan expectations.

But he’s not sure about being called “cheap” anymore. Whereas from 2000-01 the Twins had the smallest payroll in baseball, an embarrassingly low combined figure of less than $40 million for two seasons, the team’s payroll has largely been in the middle tier of baseball since the Twins moved into Target Field. Over the past five seasons, the Twins’ payroll has ranked 18th, 18th, 18th, 16th and 18th.

While he didn’t mention a specific number, Pohlad didn’t hesitate to suggest the Twins could increase payroll significantly if everything was properly aligned. Currently, the Twins are projected to have a 26-man roster payroll of $146.9 million (their 40-man roster projection is $163 million, according to Cot’s Contracts). Last season, the team’s 40-man payroll came out to $151 million.

Would something like $180-200 million be out of the question?

“I think that there are a number of factors that you need to consider,” Pohlad said. “Where your team is, where your division is, where your business is at. And I don’t think something like that is ever out of the question. I really don’t.”

The team demonstrated its ability to spend beyond previous limits with Correa. The club’s original 10-year, $285 million offer was $101 million higher than Joe Mauer’s long-term extension in 2010.

Given a second chance to re-sign Correa, the Twins were aggressive. Seventeen days after Scott Boras engaged the Twins on Christmas, and shortly after the agent reduced demands on guaranteed years, Falvey recommended the Twins include a sixth guaranteed year, which led to an offer of $42.5 million more guaranteed than the Mets’ restructured deal.

“A process like this, it can be long, it can be arduous,” Falvey said. “I give Joe a ton of credit. First time going through this process, as an owner, you could see a world where you get a little bit emotional. … That was never part of the equation. He just always supported. If we felt this was the right deal, this was the right player, managing some of the risks, that we could find a way to pursue.”

Having received constant updates from Falvey throughout the process, Pohlad said he didn’t hesitate to approve the recommendation. He knew the plan in place was sound after hearing about it regularly since the middle of last season.

“Derek doesn’t (throw recommendations around),” Pohlad said. “A lot of that is just the relationship built over time. When somebody has conviction that now is the time to pull the trigger, you don’t really use that bullet that often, and when you do you’ve got to trust your people. Derek made that recommendation with every bit of confidence it was the right time. We went forward with it and it was right.”

(Photo of Joe Pohlad: Abbie Parr / Associated Press)

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New Twins chairman Joe Pohlad put in his time prior to leadership transition