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Pohlad Talks About Twins' Future

Twins owner Jim Pohlad spoke to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about the future of the team.  A few highlights:

• Smith blames the Twins' disastrous 2011 season on "the perfect storm of injuries" as well as players failing to match their 2010 performances.  He also admitted there were fundamental issues with players called up from the minors.
• Manager Ron Gardenhire and GM Bill Smith will be back in 2012, with Pohlad noting that the Twins are not a "knee-jerk reaction organization."
• Told about the potential $40MM+ the Twins have coming off the books, Pohlad said, "Well if what you just said, if that's true, that gives us tons of flexibility."  The owner also said, "My guess is we're probably going to have to do more than one impact player."
• Pohlad was noncommittal on bringing back Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, and gave a non-answer regarding the team renewing their interest in Hisashi Iwakuma.  Said Pohlad, "I think probably everybody is on our radar."
• Pohlad says the team's $115MM payroll is "going to come down naturally" but it won't be slashed and will be "right up there."
• Based on our arbitration estimates, a $105MM payroll could give the Twins about $30MM to spend in 2012 salaries.

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