Sep 26, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (25) awaits his turn at bat against the Miami Marlins at Target Field. / Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins’ 2025 season begins on Thursday afternoon in St. Louis, which is a fact that might actually be news to a lot of casual sports fans across the state. For a variety of reasons, interest in the Twins seems to be lower than it has been in a long time.

Frankly, it’s difficult to fault those in Minnesota who aren’t particularly excited about the start of this baseball season. The Twins finished last year on a 12-27 nosedive and missed the playoffs after a strong first 123 games. Then, amid uncertainty around the team’s ownership situation, this offseason saw them make only a handful of minor additions. Their payroll was slashed prior to the 2024 season and remains about $20 million below where it was in 2023, when the team generated major momentum by breaking its 18-game postseason losing streak. And although the Pohlad family has said it will sell the team, nothing seems to be imminent on that front.

The list of understandable reasons for apathy goes on. Last year’s season was marred by a dispute between bankruptcy-bound Diamond Sports Group (the parent company of Bally Sports) and cable providers like Comcast that resulted in some fans not being able to watch the team for multiple months. This year, the Twins and Major League Baseball are producing their own TV broadcasts, but it’s taken until the day before the season begins to reach deals with major cable providers to distribute the games. That’s not exactly good for marketing.

From a baseball standpoint, it’s tough to sell fans on optimism when the Twins are running it back with the same leadership (Derek Falvey and Rocco Baldelli) and the same core group of players, led by a trio of stars who simply can’t stay on the field. Carlos Correa played in 86 of 162 games last year due to plantar fasciitis. Byron Buxton played in 102, which marked the first time he’d hit the century mark since 2017. Royce Lewis played in 82 games and is already on the Injured List to start this season after straining his hamstring while running out a ground ball in spring training.

There’s also a general sense of hopelessness that exists when the Twins and their $135 million payroll compete in the same league as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a ridiculous offseason and are spending nearly $200 million more than Minnesota on their 2025 roster. The Mets, Phillies, and Yankees are also operating on a completely different playing field due to baseball’s lack of a salary cap. Things aren’t as bleak for the Twins as they are for teams at the bottom of the payroll rankings like the Marlins, Athletics, and White Sox — MLB’s lack of a salary floor is a major part of the issue — but the financial disparity between the haves and have-nots isn’t something working in the league’s favor as it looks to capture more fans.

All of those factors have seemingly combined to result in a general sense of indifference for a lot of sports fans in Minnesota. The team hasn’t yet sold out its home opener at Target Field on April 3; tickets for that game can currently be purchased for as little as $9. The buzz that often comes with the start of a new baseball season appears to largely be missing.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of die-hard Twins fans who are excited about the season. They certainly exist — and this writer is one of them. For those who lean towards positivity, there are numerous reasons to be looking forward to watching this team play. By all accounts, Buxton and Correa are fully healthy as the season begins. Even with Lewis out, the stars are supplemented in the lineup by intriguing younger pieces like Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, and Jose Miranda. The starting pitching rotation, led by the trio of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober, could be among the AL’s best. Jhoan Duran and Griffix Jax lead a bullpen that projects as one of the best units in the entire league. The farm system has three top-75 prospects (Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Luke Keaschall) and all kinds of high-upside arms.

Still, at least for now, none of that potential on-field upside appears to be enough to outweigh the factors that have caused the interest level to decrease for many people.

All hope is not lost. If the Twins come out of the gates hot this season, more people will start to buy in. Enthusiasm around the team often heats up with the weather in the summertime, particularly if they’re putting a winning product on display at Target Field. Perhaps a completed sale of the franchise, assuming that happens sometime this year, will draw in those who refuse to care until the Pohlads are no longer running the show.

But until those things happen, there’s clearly work to do if the Twins are going to recapture the public’s attention.

Published Mar 26, 2025|Modified Mar 26, 2025