Because they just can’t help themselves, the White Sox once again made off the field news this week when an article in Crain’s Chicago Business broke that Jerry Reinsdorf is considering selling the team and/or moving them to a new location when the lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires in 2029. Alternative locations mentioned in the article were elsewhere in Chicago, the suburbs, or Nashville, Tennessee.
Now, first things first. Reinsforf, who turns 88 next February, is unlikely to sell the team in his lifetime. Reinsdorf made his bones as a tax attorney who was known for having detailed knowledge of the tax code and the loopholes within. It has long been speculated that the team will not sell until after his death to shield his heirs from the capital gains tax that would be owed once the team is sold. Reinsforf and company purchased the White Sox for $19 million back in 1981. Conservatively, the team is worth upwards of $1 billion dollars today and would likely sell for over $2 billion. If Reinsdorf sells, he owes taxes on the difference between the selling price and his initial $19 million investment. If his heirs sell, they will owe tax on the difference between the value when they inherited the team and the selling price. That’s quite a difference.
As for moving, I would be shocked if the team ended up moving out of state. Firstly, there are still six years left on the team’s lease for the current ballpark. A ballpark that, frankly, is in a better condition today than it was the day it opened. The most likely outcome is that Reindorf and company is just rattling the cage in the hopes of getting concessions on a new lease agreement. In the unlikely event the team were to move, the most obvious location would be the current Soldier Field, which the Bears are looking to abandon as they head to Arlington Heights. Tearing down the existing structure would be costly and building something new would be costly (and what about the Fire and summertime concerts?), but could use buyout money from the Bears to cover some of that cost. Suburban locations could also be on the table. The teams fanbase is concentrated in the south and southwest suburbs, though last time they threatened to move they were looking to the northwest. There is too much money to be made in Nashville as an expansion franchise for me to seriously consider that MLB would allow an existing team to relocate there.
All that said, this report will likely turn out to be much ado about nothing. Which is exactly what you want when you’re fighting for a top draft pick in a season you were expecting to be competing for the World Series.
The Cubs, effectively tied for the third and final wild card spot after last night’s victory against the White Sox, have sent out post-season invoices to their season ticket holders for the first time since 2019. Thanks to a randomly selected combination assignment, I would end up with tickets to two games in each potential round, a slight downgrade from years past. I would maintain my normal seats through the NLCS but would end up relocated to the right field side should the team advance to the World Series.
The hits keep on coming for Liam Hendriks, who underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, ending his season and potentially his time with the White Sox. After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma this offseason, Hendriks went through treatments and was declared cancer free. He made his season debut in May for the White Sox, but appeared in just five games before elbow inflammation caused him to be shut down. Surgery and rehab would likely keep him out of commission through the 2024 season.
With a little more than an hour left before the trade deadline, word came down that the White Sox had traded Jake Burger to the Marlins for Jake Eder, the team’s fourth-ranked prospect. Burger, selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 2018 draft, missed three minor league seasons between 2018 and 2020 due to two torn Achilles tendons and the pandemic before making his major league debut in 2021. He has broken out as an offensive force this season, hitting 25 home runs, which puts him in a tie for third place in the American League. Defensively, he is probably fated to be a designated hitter unless he makes major improvements.
After a good run, although against some of the dregs of the major leagues, put them back over .500 and only four games behind the NL Central leading Reds, the Cubs moved from sellers to buyers, making a move this afternoon to re-acquire Jeimer Candelario from the Nationals. Candelario made his debut with the Cubs back in 2016, earning a World Series ring for his five-game effort. With the Cubs looking to repeat as champions, he was traded the following July to the Tigers for the immortal Alex Avila and Justin Wilson.
The ink wasn’t dry on yesterday’s post about the Lance Lynn trade when it was announced that the next domino had fallen: Kendall Graveman is going back to Houston in exchange for catcher Korey Lee. Graveman, who finished the 2021 season with the Astros before signing with the White Sox as a free agent, was mostly fine during his tenure with the White Sox, though he struggled somewhat while filling in as closer this year while Liam Hendriks recuperates.
The dismantling of the 2023 Chicago White Sox continued today, as pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly were traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Nick Nastrini, Jordan Leasure, and Trayce Thompson. Lynn and Kelly last teamed up Wednesday night, as they combined to give up six runs in the top of the fifth in the loss to the Cubs.
