Twins’ future tied to youth, TV revenue and MLB changes, says Dave St. Peter

What's next for the Minnesota Twins? Based on the expertise from longtime Twins president-turned-strategic advisor Dave St. Peter, the fate of the organization is in good hands under the continued leadership of the Pohlad family, whose balance sheet has been stabilized by an infusion of cash from two limited partners who will collaborate on future operations.

"As we look to the future, I think we felt now was probably the time to be honest with ourselves about where we're at. Clearly, there was a reset at the trade deadline. But I can assure you that they'll take that as a sign that family doesn't want to win and Joe (Pohlad) doesn't want to win. I think they're trying to be realistic about what's our best path to go win — and how do we do that," St. Peter said via Talk North's Rosen's Sports Monday podcast.

The only thing Twins fans want to know is how much the Pohlads and their yet-to-be-revealed limited partners will invest towards payroll. Following the 2023 season in which the Twins snapped an 18-game playoff losing streak, the Pohlads cut payroll significantly and they've since held a fire sale that saw 10 core players from this year's team traded. Now, as they sink towards a top-five pick in the draft, the focus is on a youth movement while Major League Baseball gets its house in order — specifically a new labor agreement that could lead to a lockout to start the 2027 season.

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Once a new labor agreement is reached, St. Peter believes the league could see expansion and division realignment, among other big changes.

"I do think that that is a realistic possibility after this next labor negotiation, both expansion and realignment are going to get a serious consideration. I also think there's going to be other things on the table. I think they'll look at the length of the season, which is a little bit of a sacred cow in baseball. Why do we play 162 games? What does postseason baseball look like? Do you find a runway for maybe a little bit more postseason?" St. Peter said.

St. Peter, who began his career with the Twins as an intern in 1990 and was the team president from 2002 until early 2025, thinks MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is seriously considering breaking some of baseball's longstanding traditions — and the inclusion of the pitch clock in 2023 may have opened the door for more.

"I think the benefit of the pitch clock is two-fold. One, it made our games 2 1/2 hours, which brought it back into right where it needs to be, not just for those going to games, but for those watching or listening. But the second thing it did is it gave permission to this commissioner to start to look at shaking the tree in some other ways. Changing some other aspects of the game that in our sport, maybe more than any other, are so embedded and so rigid around history that change is really difficult in baseball," he said.

While those changes would generate some excitement and perhaps draw younger fans, the biggest impact on how much money the Twins allocate to the roster might come when TV and streaming revenue increases with new partnerships. The Twins are rumored to be on their way to ESPN from 2026 to 2028, but even bigger plans could be in store for 2029 and beyond.

"There's a plan here," St. Peter said. "This commissioner, more than any other commissioner, has talked openly about the desire to aggregate all 30 teams' rights, particularly on the streaming side, to one platform. The Twins were actually a forerunner in this so we feel like we're part of building that.

"We're one of the first teams to go to a platform. You may see changes on this even for 2026 where we potentially partner with... there's been reports that perhaps the Twins and other teams may end up on an ESPN-type platform. I don't have all the specifics on that yet, nor is it official. But the goal here is to provide all 30 clubs on one platform."

St. Peter says Major League Baseball would then split the broadcast revenue evenly between all 30 teams, similar to what the NFL does with its franchises.

"I do think the future of what's going to happen with labor and with media, particularly on a national media front, is going to play a role as well. But those things are outside our control. What we can control is what we do with our team, what we can do with our ballpark — continuing to invest in the gameday experience and making sure that people can feel proud of being a Minnesota Twins fan," St. Peter reasoned.

After 40 years with the Pohlads in control, the Twins have two World Series titles to brag about. But those came more than 30 years ago and in the time since the Twins have floundered in mediocrity and low expectations. But St. Peter thinks the team will make a comeback, even if it takes a little time.

"The franchise has been resilient. I can speak to this. I saw it. As challenging as this feels to you, go back to the late 1990s. Post Puckett, post Hrbek. The '97, '98, '99. I'm not suggesting that it's a good comp, but it's the only comp I'm going to pull through," he said.

"We will navigate through this. The franchise is bigger than any individual person or thing. The brand of the Twins is bigger than that. It's going to need to start from within in terms of our franchise getting organized with what this new ownership structure is going to look like, what our leadership is going to look like and what our team is going to look like. But I have a high level of optimism that we will navigate to a better place. I think it will start in 2026 with a young team that you can see the future. Very similar to what we've done in some other junctures in Twins baseball, in Twins history."

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