A Minnesota Twins front office strategy memo circulated internally last week, outlining a comprehensive review of the San Diego Padres' fan engagement model. The document, reviewed by three people with knowledge of its contents, identifies specific communication protocols the Padres deployed during their $1.2 billion payroll expansion window and instructs Twins department heads to assess applicability before Opening Day.
The memo surfaces after the Twins drew 1.97 million fans in 2024, their lowest full-season attendance since Target Field opened in 2010. Minnesota finished 82-80 last season despite operating a $130 million payroll, third-lowest in the American League Central. Season ticket renewals for 2025 are tracking 11 percent behind the same point last cycle, according to one person briefed on sales data. The Pohlad family, which has owned the club since 1984, explored a sale in late 2023 but withdrew the team from market in February 2024 without public explanation.
The Padres comparison carries weight because San Diego rebuilt credibility after years of aggressive teardowns. Between 2019 and 2022, the Padres added Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, and Juan Soto while simultaneously investing in Spanish-language broadcasts, youth academies in Tijuana, and coordinated season-ticket holder events tied to roster moves. Attendance climbed from 2.16 million in 2019 to 3.19 million in 2023, despite ticket price increases averaging 18 percent over that span. The Twins memo specifically references the Padres' practice of scheduling front office availability sessions within 48 hours of major transactions, a cadence Minnesota has never maintained.
Minnesota's challenge is structural. The Twins have not advanced past the Division Series since 2002, the longest active drought among teams that have reached the postseason multiple times in that window. They traded Luis Arraez in May 2023, dealt Jorge Polanco and Tyler Mahle in separate moves, and declined to extend several arbitration-eligible players despite stating competitive intent. Fans heard "retool" and saw payroll plateau. The Padres, by contrast, communicated rebuild timelines in quarterly investor-style updates, a format the Twins memo now calls "worth piloting."
The timing matters because the Twins' local broadcast situation remains unresolved. Bally Sports North, their RSN partner, emerged from bankruptcy in June 2024 under Diamond Sports Group, but the Twins' carriage deal expires after the 2025 season. MLB has floated a direct-to-consumer streaming package in select markets, and Minnesota is on the short list for a 2026 pilot. Any shift away from linear TV will require communicating value props to fans who have watched on cable for decades. The Padres navigated a similar RSN squeeze in 2023 and retained 87 percent of their subscriber base through coordinated email campaigns and partial free previews, tactics the Twins memo flags for review.
Several Twins executives have already visited San Diego. Two members of Minnesota's business operations team attended Padres home games in September 2024, according to one person who spotted them in the Gallagher Square hospitality area. Meetings were arranged, though specifics were not disclosed. The Padres' front office has fielded 12 similar requests from other clubs since 2023, per a person familiar with their consulting inquiries, suggesting the model has become a template.
What happens next depends on whether the Pohlads authorize budget for the infrastructure the Padres built. San Diego added six full-time staff to its fan experience team between 2020 and 2022, raising baseball operations overhead by roughly $800,000 annually. The Twins have historically resisted such additions, preferring to reallocate existing headcount. If Minnesota follows through, expect announcements around community advisory boards and coordinated pre-camp press availability in late February, ahead of Spring Training.
The Twins open the season April 3 at Target Field against the Chicago White Sox. Season ticket packages are still available in the upper deck, a rarity this close to Opening Day in most renewal cycles.
The takeaway
Twins studying Padres' fan trust playbook after lowest Target Field attendance since 2010 and stalled renewals ahead of broadcast deal expiration.
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