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Tom Pohlad

Latest On Derek Falvey’s Departure From Twins

By Nick Deeds | February 1, 2026 at 3:33pm CDT

The Twins shocked the baseball world this past week when they announced that the team was parting ways with team president Derek Falvey in what was framed as a mutual decision between Falvey and executive chair Tom Pohlad. More details have come out in the aftermath of that announcement on the circumstances surrounding Falvey’s departure that offer additional insight into the motivations behind that decision.

The move was surprising to fans, media, and rival clubs around the game for a number of reasons. Falvey had been promoted from his seat as president of baseball operations to also handle business operations in a dual president role in November of 2024, just over a year prior to his departure from the organization. That Falvey went from so thoroughly entrenched in the Twins’ present and future plans to out the door in a matter of months was shocking to outside observers, and Dan Hayes of The Athletic suggests it was met with equal shock internally, with staffers describing the news as a “haymaker.” Even more shocking is the timing of the move, which comes just a matter of weeks before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training with the large majority of offseason maneuvering already done.

In comments following Falvey’s departure, both Falvey himself and Pohlad have indicated that there was a difference in personalities between the two that led to the change. Pohlad described himself and Falvey (as relayed by Hayes) as “two people that were suddenly thrust into working together.” Falvey’s comments offered some additional insight into those differences.

“[Former Twins executive chair] Joe [Pohlad] and I had a different plan and working dynamic,” Falvey said of his departure, as relayed by Hayes. “Tom wants to run it a little differently. … Sometimes it’s just a feel that you get where both sides kind of sit there and say, ‘OK, is this the right match for what we need going forward?’ And if you get to a place where you don’t think it (fits) perfectly, you have to have really honest conversations and dialogue about it and we did.”

Given those comments about conflicting personalities and changing plans, it’s worth zooming out to consider the larger context of the Twins organization in recent years. After breaking the club’s lengthy drought of playoff victories in 2023, ownership slashed payroll during the 2023-24 offseason. Things have gone downhill since then on the field, and after a collapse in 2024 led to an 82-80 season and missing the playoffs, the team took an even bigger step back and lost 90 games in 2025.

Entering this offseason, all signs appeared to be pointing towards a rebuild coming to Minnesota. Players like Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, and even Byron Buxton were widely viewed as trade chips who would be available to rival teams this winter, and a tear-down of the roster had already gotten underway at the trade deadline back in July. In addition to the move to shed Carlos Correa’s contract in a salary dump with the Astros, the Twins traded away a number of pieces, including controllable impact bullpen pieces like Louis Varland, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax.

In the background of those struggles on the field, the Pohlad family looked to move on from their ownership of the Twins franchise. The team announced their exploration of a sale in October of 2024, just one month before Falvey was promoted to his dual president role. Efforts to sell the family’s majority share in the club eventually fell through, however, and they instead ended up bringing on additional minority stakeholders to help address the team’s debt, which had complicated efforts to sell. After the details of that partial sale of the club were ironed out, Tom Pohlad (who had not been involved with the Twins’ operations until the effort to sell the club began) took over the executive chair position from younger brother Joe Pohlad and became the team’s control person back in December.

Given that Falvey had launched the start of what clearly seemed to be a rebuild under Joe Pohlad, much of Tom Pohlad’s rhetoric surrounding the team and it’s near-term competitive future makes a disconnect seem somewhat clear. Hayes reports that Tom Pohlad plans to be more proactive in steering the team as compared to the more laid-back approaches of former executive chairs Joe and Jim Pohlad, who Falvey had worked under in the past. Tom Pohlad’s planned direction for the team seems to be a quick return to contention, which goes against the plan Falvey had been in the midst of putting into place when Pohlad took over as Minnesota’s control person.

That planned return to contention might come with additional financial flexibility, but it’s unclear exactly how much. Pohlad has told reporters (including Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic) that he believes there is “room for investment” in the roster between now and Opening Day, which suggests there could be at least some additional spending to come to help round out a roster with a number of noticeable holes. With that said, however, Pohlad also downplayed the importance of the team’s payroll in those same comments.

“Yes, our payroll is down from last year,” Tom Pohlad said, as relayed by Gleeman. “I think there are still some investments to be made between now and Opening Day. I’d also say, at some point, I’d love to get off this payroll thing for a second. Let’s judge the success of this year on wins and losses, and on whether we’re playing meaningful baseball in September.”

Given that the team’s new control person has indicated a desire to be more hands-on than his predecessors and push the franchise in a more aggressive direction than it was previously on while also hesitating about the importance of raising payroll, it’s not hard to see where a conflict between Pohlad and Falvey could have arisen. Had Falvey been operating under a directive to return to contention in 2026, it’s easy to imagine him handling last year’s trade deadline differently, particularly when it comes to controllable, low-cost relief arms like Varland.

A departure at this point in the calendar still registers as a surprise, but Hays reports that one source described Falvey’s decision to leave now as a way to create an opportunity for the rest of his personnel to “create [their] own history” with the new control person. It’s not hard to imagine the possibility of tension down the road between Falvey and Pohlad creating a difficult situation for lower-level personnel in the front office, and Falvey removing himself from that equation immediately could help to avoid any potential issues between ownership and the front office going forward.

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Twins Announce “Mutual” Parting Of Ways With President Of Baseball Ops Derek Falvey

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2026 at 11:59pm CDT

In a stunning and out-of-the-blue announcement, the Twins on Friday parted ways with longtime president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. General manager Jeremy Zoll will ascend from the team’s No. 2 spot on the baseball operations hierarchy to the top position (though his title is not changing). Executive chair Tom Pohlad offered the following statement within today’s press release:

“Over the past several weeks, Derek and I had thoughtful and candid conversations about leadership, structure, and the future of the club. We reached a shared understanding that the needs of the organization are evolving and that a leadership transition is the best way to move forward. I want to thank Derek for everything he has contributed to this organization. When he joined the Twins nine years ago, it was, in many ways, a watershed moment for this franchise. His leadership was transformational. He helped modernize every aspect of our baseball operations and led with strong values, intention, and purpose. Derek created a culture grounded in learning and in the belief that organizations grow when people grow. Under his leadership, the Twins captured three division titles and made four postseason appearances. We are grateful for his dedication, his integrity, and the impact he made here.”

Falvey offered his own statement:

“Following a series of thoughtful conversations with Tom that began after the ownership transition and progressed over the past few weeks, we both agreed this was the right time for us to part ways. Ownership transitions naturally create moments for reflection and honest dialogue about leadership, vision, and how an organization wants to move forward. Over the past several weeks we had those conversations openly and constructively and ultimately reached a shared understanding that this was the right step both for the organization and for me personally. … On a personal level, I’m looking forward to taking some time to be with my family, reflect and consider what comes next.  I don’t have specific plans yet, but I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had here and excited about the next chapter when the time is right.”

Falvey was hired to lead Minnesota’s baseball operations following the 2016 season. Originally given the title of “chief baseball officer,” he hired Thad Levine — who stepped down and left the Twins last offseason — as general manager underneath him. That pairing led the Twins for the next eight years, with Falvey twice being extended and eventually being given the “president of baseball operations” moniker.

Last winter, after Levine left the club, the Twins announced that Zoll would be elevated to the GM position. Falvey stayed on as the president of baseball operations and actually took on an even larger role, picking up president of business operations Dave St. Peter’s responsibilities when St. Peter stepped down and moved into an advisory role. The dual president titles for Falvey seemed to make him entrenched with the Twins for the long haul; to see him not only cede baseball operations oversight but leave the club entirely just 15 months later is genuinely shocking.

Of course, quite a bit has changed with the Twins since Falvey’s ascension to president of baseball and business operations. St. Peter’s decision to step down came not long after the Pohlad family announced its intent to explore a sale of the team. The Twins thought they had a buyer lined up in Justin Ishbia, co-owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and a minority owner of the division-rival White Sox. Momentum toward that sale fell through, however, when the White Sox offered Ishbia a path to increase his stake in the club and eventually purchase the majority stake from current owner Jerry Reinsdorf (several years down the road).

The Twins never found a buyer for the majority share of the club, due largely to reported debt in excess of $400MM (on top of what was said to be a $1.7 billion asking price). Instead, they welcomed in a trio of minority stakeholders who purchased their shares at that $1.7 billion valuation, thereby cleaning up a significant portion (if not the entirety) of the debt. Craig Leipold, owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, was the most recognizable name among the new stakeholders.

The Pohlad family retained majority ownership of the team, continuing its four-decade run, but there were still changes made. Joe Pohlad, the nephew of predecessor Jim Pohlad and grandson of the late Carl Pohlad (who originally purchased the team in 1984), was removed from his position as executive chair after just three years. Tom, his older brother, assumed the executive chair role and was approved by the league as the team’s new control person. He’s now temporarily assuming Falvey’s duties as president of business operations, though this morning’s press release indicates that the Twins will immediately commence a search to bring in a new president for the business side of their operations.

The Twins have had an up-and-down run in the American League Central during Falvey’s time as their baseball operations leader. On the surface, parting with the president of baseball operations after a 92-loss season and in the midst of an ownership shakeup doesn’t sound all that surprising. And, had this move taken place immediately following the season, it presumably would not have been all that eye-opening.

However, the timing of the move makes it borderline unprecedented. Teams don’t make baseball operations shifts of this magnitude two weeks before spring training commences and when the heavy lifting of an offseason has (presumably) already taken place. As The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman notes, the Twins just held their annual media luncheon one week ago; Falvey was the keynote speaker.

Further details and comments from Twins brass will surely continue to filter out in the days, weeks and months to come. It’s not yet clear whether the change in baseball operations leadership will prompt a change of trajectory with regard to the roster. Falvey has previously been vocal about his desire to keep stars Byron Buxton, Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, even after last July’s deadline sell-off. One would assume he and Zoll were aligned on that front, but it’s at least possible now that a different lead voice will give way to a different strategy. If nothing else, other clubs are going to circle back to check in with Zoll about the potential availability of those veterans (and, presumably, catcher Ryan Jeffers, who is entering his final season of club control).

On the other side of the coin, Minnesota’s payroll currently projects for just $108MM, per RosterResource. That’s about $30MM shy of last year’s levels and miles below the club-record payroll from 2023, when the Twins approached $160MM. Ownership isn’t going to push spending back to that level, but it’s possible that Zoll is more amenable to bringing in further veteran pieces than his former boss was.

In the immediate aftermath of the leadership shuffle, there’s no clear way to glean just what the change will mean for the Twins’ roster, but today’s announcement stands as the latest development in what has been the most tumultuous two-year stretch for the Twins organization since they were nearly contracted in the early 2000s.

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Twins Introduce New Minority Owners; Tom Pohlad Named Team’s New Control Person

By Steve Adams | December 17, 2025 at 10:17am CDT

Several months after the Pohlad family reversed course on its bid to sell the Twins, instead revealing the forthcoming addition of new minority owners, the Twins have formally announced a trio of new minority stakeholders in the organization — all of whom have been formally approved by Major League Baseball. Craig Leipold, owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild; George G. Hicks, founder of Minnesota-based investment firm Varde Partners; and Glick Family Investors are the team’s new limited partners.

The Pohlad family will retain majority ownership of the Twins, but there’s still changes on that front. Joe Pohlad, the team’s executive chair, is ceding oversight of the organization to older brother Tom Pohlad. Per the Twins’ press release, Tom will oversee the organization’s operations and will also succeed his uncle, Jim Pohlad, as the team’s official control person and liaison to the league.

Joe Pohlad had only taken over the executive chair role and day-to-day oversight of the franchise in November of 2022. He called his short time as the team’s executive chair “one of the greatest responsibilities and privileges of my life” before adding that he is “stepping away from my day-to-day role.”

Details of the sale weren’t disclosed by the team, but Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Pohlad family sold more than 20% of the franchise at a valuation of $1.75 billion. The addition of the new minority stakeholders has helped to substantially clear a reported debt of nearly $500MM. Wiping that debt clean could aid the Pohlad family in any subsequent efforts to sell the franchise down the road. It’s not clear at this time whether the family will eventually revisit the idea of selling the team, however.

Back in July, the Twins sold off a stunning 11 players, including the final three-plus seasons of Carlos Correa’s $200MM contract. Minnesota will pay $10MM of his $33MM salary in each of the next three seasons, but that trade alone trimmed more than $70MM off the books. Trades of Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Danny Coulombe trimmed a few million from the 2025 payroll and also eliminated the need to commit notable arbitration raises to Duran and Jax this winter. Naturally, that fire sale left the Twins with a gutted roster — specifically in the bullpen — and plenty of speculation about continuing that teardown in the offseason.

Instead, it seems the cash infusion from this slate of limited partners has prompted ownership to provide the front office with some modest spending power. They plan to hang onto stars Byron Buxton, Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan. This week’s signing of veteran first baseman Josh Bell only further supports the notion that there’s room to add to the 2026 roster and take aim at contending in a perennially weak American League Central.

While the Twins aren’t going to return to the $140-155MM payrolls they trotted out from 2023-25, they should have somewhere around $15MM or so (based on prior reporting from Hayes) to add to the budget after adding Bell. Solidifying a patchwork bullpen figures to be the primary focus, but Minnesota could also pursue bench upgrades or another power bat to plug into the mix.

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