Payroll Problems and Profit Priorities

The Pirates have long been one of baseball’s poster children for maximizing ownership profits while minimizing payroll. Last season, Pittsburgh’s Opening Day payroll was a meager $87 million, ranking near the bottom of Major League Baseball. Only the Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics spent less.

Minnesota hasn’t reached those depths yet, but the direction is eerily familiar. The Twins’ 2025 payroll averaged around $136 million, ranking 20th in MLB. After the team’s late-season sell-off, that number dipped closer to $120 million, and early indicators suggest that the front office could trim even more heading into 2026. A payroll in the $100 million range would put the Twins dangerously close to the Pirates’ operating zone.

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For years, ownership has sold the narrative that spending efficiency, not spending limits, is the goal. But at some point, it’s fair for fans to wonder if the Twins are still trying to win or simply trying to make the balance sheet look better.

Empty Seats in Beautiful Ballparks
PNC Park and Target Field are often celebrated as two of the most beautiful venues in baseball. Both parks sit along scenic backdrops, one with the Pittsburgh skyline, the other overlooking downtown Minneapolis. But lately, the view from the stands has come with a lot more empty seats.

Minnesota entered 2025 hoping to top two million fans in attendance for the season, but the reality was far bleaker. The Twins finished with 1.77 million total fans, averaging just under 22,000 per game. That marks one of the franchise’s lowest totals since Target Field opened in 2010.

Meanwhile, the Pirates drew 1.52 million fans to PNC Park, averaging about 18,800 per game. The gap between the two clubs’ attendance figures has nearly evaporated. With season ticket renewals expected to drop for 2026, the Twins could soon find themselves right next to Pittsburgh on the attendance charts, a place no ownership group wants to be.

Minnesota’s ownership touted that Target Field was built to keep the team competitive and financially stable. But like in Pittsburgh, a sparkling ballpark doesn’t mean much when the product on the field fails to inspire confidence. Fans can only be sold on skyline views and craft beer for so long before apathy takes over.

From Contenders to a “Quad-A” Club

In Pittsburgh, the model has been clear for decades: draft and develop elite talent, utilize it for a few years, and then watch those players become stars elsewhere. Gerrit Cole became a Yankee ace. Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows were traded away. Now, Paul Skenes appears to be the next great Pirate who may eventually find himself in a different uniform once the price tag becomes too high.

Minnesota’s recent moves echo that same troubling trend. The 2025 trade deadline saw the front office flip established talent for prospects, signaling a potential reset rather than a retool. And with rumors swirling that players like Joe Ryan, Ryan Jeffers, and Pablo López could be on the block this winter, it’s fair to ask whether the Twins are becoming a “Quad-A” franchise, one that grooms top talent just long enough for richer clubs to reap the benefits.

It’s a path the Pirates have walked for years, one that trades long-term competitiveness for short-term cost control. The Twins were supposed to be different. They had modern analytics, a player-friendly culture, and a new stadium built on promises of sustained contention. But as payroll shrinks, attendance falls, and key players are dangled in trade rumors, those promises feel increasingly hollow.

The Slippery Slope

No one expects the Twins to spend like the Dodgers or Phillies. But there’s a big difference between fiscal responsibility and competitive apathy. The Pirates have shown how quickly a team can slip into irrelevance when ownership treats baseball like a business first and a sport second.

If the Twins continue to cut payroll, lose stars, and alienate their fan base, they won’t just resemble the Pirates. They’ll become them. And for a franchise that once prided itself on doing more with less, that would be the ultimate failure.

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