Could Tampa Bay Rays Sale Help Pohlads Sell Minnesota Twins?

The focus for Rocco Baldelli and Minnesota Twins players this season has been their performance on the field. And let’s be honest, they have their hands full recently, as losers in nine of their last eleven games. Meanwhile, at the ownership level, the cloud of an ever-impending sale continues to hang over the organization.

Early on, the process felt like it might be quick and painless, when Justin Ishbia — billionaire brother of Phoenix Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia — quickly emerged as a suitor, shortly after the Pohlads made their intent to sell public.

The tone surrounding this sales process changed dramatically, however, when Ishbia spurned the Pohlads, in exchange for a greater stake in the Chicago White Sox, which he already owned a minority interest in.

While the people in charge of the sales process at 1 Twins Way continue to speak optimistically about their prospects to complete a deal sooner than later… there has been little physical evidence to substantiate those claims.

Tampa Bay Rays being sold for interesting dollar amount…

But could the winds of change be blowing back in the Pohlads direction this week, thanks to the sale of another MLB organization 1,300 miles away? It’s possible.

According to sports business insider Kurt Badenhausen (Forbes, Sportico), the Tampa Bay Rays are in advanced stages of being sold to Jacksonville, FL billionaire home builder Patrick Zalupski. In fact, the sale is so far along that a letter of intent has been signed agreeing to a whopping $1.7 billion.

SCOOP: The Tampa Bay Rays are in advanced talks to sell the club to a group led by Jacksonville home builder Patrick Zalupski.

Parties have signed a letter of intent, and the price is roughly $1.7B. Details at @Sportico from @soshnick and me.https://t.co/gugFFMBnJe

— Kurt Badenhausen (@kbadenhausen) June 18, 2025

If that $1.7 billion sales price sounds familiar, it’s probably because it’s the exact amount the Pohlad family has been asking for the Minnesota Twins, a price that has reportedly been holding up a sale from going through.

Forbes recently valued the Minnesota Twins at $1.5 billion (23rd in MLB), which is similar to what interested parties have been willing to offer the Pohlads, according to reports. Guess where the Rays sit on that Forbes list?

Shocker (not), it’s far below the Twins. In that same analysis, Forbes valued the Tampa Bay Rays at $1.25 billion, ranking 29th in Major League Baseball. To make matters more intriguing, the Rays don’t even have a home stadium right now, after Tropicana Field was torn to shreds by Hurricane Milton.

Rays sale will likely affect Minnesota Twins sale process

Yet, even with all of that being true, Rays ownership somehow has a letter of intent signed for $450 million north of the organization’s latest valuation and $200 million more than what the Minnesota Twins are supposedly worth. But after this sale, that could change.

If there was any news that could help kickstart sales talks in the Pohlads’ favor, outside of a freshly-minted profitable TV deal or surge in millions of Twins.TV subscriptions, it’s the Tampa Bay Rays selling for the exact asking price of the Minnesota Twins.

Related: Minnesota Twins Catcher Exits With Injury

And to add more validity to the Pohlad asking price of $1.7 billion, it’s worth noting that the Baltimore Orioles were purchased for $1.73 billion just over a year ago. What makes the Orioles more valuable than the Twins?

Now, if the Rays become the second team sold for that price, after Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets in 2020 for $2.42 billion… you’d have to think these prospective buyers up their willingness to pay $1.7-$1.8 billion for the Twins.

So, is Stu Sternberg a much better negotiator than Joe Pohlad and his family? That’s certainly plausible. There’s no denying that a sale of this magnitude could have ripple effects for the Minnesota Twins as well.