The unassuming Derek Falvey is arguably the most powerful sports executive in town, adding business-side responsibilities to his long-standing baseball oversight. It’s a rarity, in this age of specialization, to see these verticals combined under a single executive. “The Pohlads ran this as a single business,” he explains, “so I’ve always been privy to how the business was operating.” In such a paradigm, he notes that it’s paramount to build great teams and have clarity of roles. But the elephant in the room is always baseball, which he has had dominion over since the 2017 season. He says the game remains about finding that undervalued competitive edge. The years ahead are fraught with uncertainty, as the Pohlads add minority partners and team owners get ready to face down labor over a salary cap a year from now. That and a new broadcast revenue model could radically change the economics of this middle-market team.