While many of the club’s fans have been clamoring for Reinsdorf to sell the club, it’s possible 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 involved with a group that has been trying to get an MLB franchise in Nashville, Tennessee. Stewart parted ways with Music City Baseball/the Nashville Stars but told Paul Skrbina of the Nashville Tennessean in May that he still had designs on getting a team to Nashville someday. Per Wednesday’s 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 Women’s Soccer League team to Nashville.
Back in August 2023, Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the Sox were exploring relocating within Chicago but that moving to Nashville was also under consideration.
“Ever since the article came out, I’ve been reading about I’ve been threatening to move to Nashville,” Reinsdorf said in response, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “That article didn’t come from me. But if we have six years left, we’ve got to decide what’s the future going to be? We’ll get to it, but I never threatened to move out. We haven’t even begun to have discussions with the Sports Authority, which we’ll have to do soon.”
In December, multiple sources (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) reported that Reinsdorf met with Nashville mayor Freddie O’Connell.
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. It’s also possible that Stewart’s group is just one of several that Reinsdorf has spoken with or will eventually speak with. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible that Reinsdorf is using the threat of relocation to help get a new stadium built in Chicago.
As covered
previously at MLBTR, the Sox have discussed plans about a new stadium in Chicago’s South Loop on a parcel of land known as “The 78.” It’s 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 doesn’t mean it will ultimately come to pass. In recent years, teams like the Nationals and Angels announced plans to explore the possibility of selling, only to later pull back from those declarations. This situation appears to be somewhat different, in that some discussions have already taken place. Though as mentioned, it’s 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 announced last week that they will explore the possibility of a sale. Reinsdorf is the second-longest active owner in Major League Baseball, trailing only the Steinbrenner family, which have owned the Yankees since 1973.