It’s the clearest sign things are happening since a reportedly interested buyer backed off this spring.
MINNEAPOLIS — Things are still about as clear as mud when it comes to who will buy the Minnesota Twins.
Earlier this year, reports of Justin Ishbia, a minority owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, interest seemed to spell the end of Twins fans’ wait for new ownership.
Ishbia backed off, and news surrounding the sale has been quiet ever since.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to the media ahead of the All-Star Game in Atlanta Tuesday night. There, Phil Miller, the Twins beat writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune, asked Manfred about the sale.
“I took the opportunity to ask him,” Miller said. “It’s been nine months now.”
“He was talking to me, ‘I know more than you know,'” Miller said of his question to Manfred.
“I can tell you with a lot of confidence that there will be a transaction there,” Manfred told Miller, who wrote about the conversation in his latest story.
Manfred also told Miller, “We just need to be patient while they work.”
“I was surprised by how affirmative he was,” Miller continued.
It’s one of the clearest indications that things are happening that we’ve seen since earlier this year.
“He definitely left the impression that it is in the works,” Miller said.
As for who could be the new owner or owners, that’s still unclear.
“Ultimately, in terms of hard information, I don’t think we’re gonna hear much until we actually hear from the people themselves,” John Bonnes, co-founder of Twins Daily, said.
Bonnes says what seems more certain is the range in which the franchise could fetch – according to The Athletic, the Tampa Bay Rays will sell for close to $1.7 billion.
“The fact that the Rays were willing, were able to sell for $1.7 billion does not hurt the Twins’ argument that that is what they are worth,” Bonnes said. “They are definitely in a better situation than the Tampa Bay Rays, both in terms of their overall interest and their audience, and certainly in terms of their stadium situation.”
Both Bonnes and Miller say it will still likely take time before a sale is announced.
“Given how quick and affirmative Manfred was (Tuesday), I do think we will know the identity of the buyer or buyers,” Miller said, trailing off. “You know, there’s two-and-a-half months left in the season, I would not be at all surprised, in fact, I would expect now that we will know who it is by then.”
Until then, Bonnes says, just enjoy the season until then.
“Hopefully we have to enjoy a little bit of October, and then, you know, follow the team in the off-season to see what happens,” he said. “That’s when we’ll really need to care more about who’s owning this team.”
