Jerry Reinsdorf Reportedly Discussing Sale Of White So

[delmermollie]

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is open to selling the club and is in active discu sions with a group led by Dave Stewart, reports . Its unclear how po sible a sale is or how much progre s the talks have made, but it would be a seismic shift for the franchise if it comes to fruition. Reinsdorf, now 88 years old, is one of the more controversial owners in the sport. He bought the club in 1981 for about $20MM and has since developed a reputation for being on the meddlesome side, leading to reports of tumult from within the organization. Reinsdorf only owns an estimated 19% stake in the club, according to , but is nonethele s the principal owner of the club. The club has had some succe s during his tenure as owner, including winning the 2005 World Series, but the Sox are at a very low ebb right now. They didnt make the playoffs from 2009 to 2019, finishing below .500 during the majority of that stretch. A new core seemed to emerge and helped them make the postseason in 2020 and 2021, but that quickly proved to be unsustainable. They dropped Mike Minor Jersey to .500 in 2022 and lost 101 games last year before things got even worse in 2024. They lost 121 games this year, setting a new record for lo ses in the modern era. Amid that downward slide, plenty of changes have taken place. In August of 2023, president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn were fired after many years with the club. However, that shakeup was followed by the club promoting Chris Getz to general manager from within, seemingly not undertaking an extensive search for external candidates. Manager Pedro Grifol and some coaches were fired in August of 2024. Grady Sizemore took over as interim manager and its not yet clear who will be the clubs bench bo s for 2025. Those changes were arguable merited, but as the Sox were nearing their dishonorable place in history this year, Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal put the franchise under the microscope in for The Athletic last month. In it, various sources traced the clubs misfortunes to Reinsdorf. His slow embrace of analytics, his refusal to invest in amenities or player payroll and his insular loyalty were among the various complaints cited in the piece. While many of the clubs fans have been clamoring for Reinsdorf to sell the club, its po sible their wish is being granted in monkey-paw fashion, given who the buyer could be. Stewart is well-known in the baseball world for his playing career and also his post-playing ventures as a coach, executive, agent and stint as general manager of the Diamondbacks. In recent years, he has been that has been trying to get an MLB franchise in Nashville, Tenne see. Stewart parted ways with Music City Baseball/the Nashville Stars but told in May that he still had designs on getting a team to Nashville someday. Per todays report from Ghiroli, he is now part of a group called Smoke34, a reference to his nickname and jersey number from his playing days. Ghiroli also mentions that Stewart and partner Lonnie Murray are trying to bring a National Womens Soccer League team to Nashville. Back in August of 2023, reported that the Sox were exploring relocating within Chicago but that moving to Nashville was also under consideration. Ever since the article came out, Ive been reading about Ive been threatening to move to Nashville, Reinsdorf said in response, per . That article didnt come from me. But if we have six years left, weve got to decide whats the future going to be? Well get to it, but I never threatened to move out. We havent even begun to have discu sions with the Sports Authority, which well have to do soon. In December, multiple sources (including ) reported that Reinsdorf met with Nashville mayor Freddie OConnell. There are still plenty of unknowns with this story and the next steps will require more details to come out. The talks between Reinsdorf and Stewart could in early/exploratory stages or they could be further along. Its also po sible that Stewarts group is just one of several that Reinsdorf has spoken with or will eventually speak with. Speculatively speaking, its po sible that Reinsdorf is using the threat of relocation to help get a new stadium built in Chicago. As at MLBTR, the Sox have discu sed plans about a new stadium in Chicagos South Loop on a parcel of land known as The 78. Its not uncommon for owners of sports franchises to dangle the threat of relocation in an attempt to extract public money for real estate investments. The Sox, who have a lease at Guaranteed Rate Field through 2029, were reportedly looking to get a billion dollars in public money for their new stadium as of February. Exploring a sale of the club also doesnt mean it will ultimately come to pa s. In recent years, teams like the Nationals and Angels announced plans to explore the po sibility of selling, only to later pull back from those declarations. This situation appears to be somewhat different, in that some discu sions have already taken place. Though as mentioned, its unclear how extensive those talks have been. This is the second report this month of a club considering a sale. The Twins, divisional rival of the White Sox, are also on the block. The Pohlad family that they will explore the po sibility of a sale. Reinsdorf is the second-longest active owner in Major League Baseball, trailing only the Steinbrenner family, who have owned the Yankees since 1973. Spencer Steer Jersey