During the few days where it was reported that Jerry Reinsdorf was more open than ever to selling the White Sox, Justin Ishbia was said to have been interested in buying them.
Given the lack of a follow-up, Reinsdorf's interest in selling the White Sox appears to have been overstated, or merely a ploy to stoke Nashville-related angst by specifically invoking Dave Stewart's group as a potential buyer.
Isbhia's interest in getting in on an MLB team is not. Bloomberg reported, and The Athletic and ESPN have confirmed, that Justin and Mat Ishbia, the billionaire brothers who own the Phoenix Sun and Mercury, are interested in buying the Minnesota Twins. The difference here is that the Pohlad family officially announced an intention to explore selling the team in October, with Dan Hayes relaying a timeline of six months, so there are significantly fewer obstacles between "rumored interest" and "actually happening."
Assuming the Ishbias would show a similar enthusiasm with the Twins as they do with the Suns, it might be just what they need, as the Pohlads' conservative approach to spending killed a lot of the momentum -- both in terms of the standings and attendance -- by failing to invest after winning. It'd also remove an ownership group that would have a natural geographic tendency to be interested in the White Sox, as Justin Ishbia is the CEO of Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm.
Spare Parts
Here's Eric Longenhagen's review of the four-pack of prospects the White Sox received for Garrett Crochet, and his view aligns with mine, in that the strength of the deal isn't one surefire, knockout talent, but multiple ways for each prospect contribute something the team needs:
A four-for-one swap in which each prospect they acquired has a special skill and potentially meaningful upside gives the White Sox a great combination of depth and ceiling in this transaction.
As we continue to compile offers the White Sox considered or requested for purposes of comparison to what they received from the Red Sox, here's a note that the White Sox wanted Brandon Sproat to lead a potential package from the Mets, and David Stearns wouldn't budge.
Eno Sarris says that the trend toward widely available, standardized data means that teams may be approaching the point of diminishing returns in acquiring it (although as the White Sox have shown, teams can certainly be at a competitive disadvantage). But while the White Sox are late to the game here, they may be at the forefront of applying information in a personal fashion. What Sarris relayed from Seattle assistant GM Andy McKay about what he looks for from new hires:
“Empathy. My ability to sit in your shoes and see the world from your lens, that’s hard to do. Empathy is a big one."
... is what Walker McKinven said he liked about Will Venable:
"The things he’s talked about, leading with kindness, doing things through an emphathetic lens and then just ultimately dialing in our processes as a group."
Leo Morganstern pays tribute to Paul Konerko by reviewing the players who were emboldened to try one (1) stolen base attempt in 2024. Konerko has more one-attempt seasons than anybody else in MLB history, and went 9-for-13 in stolen bases over 18 MLB seasons due to the element of surprise. The guys with the lowest attempt rate in 2024 went a combined 6-for-7.
On paper, the Houston Astros deliberately took a step back from 2025 ambitions by trading Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, and they could be further jeopardizing their status within the AL West if they trade Framber Valdez in his last year of team control as well. Cam Smith is a good return, but it's a play that's not necessarily a great idea for a large market (the Red Sox still haven't recovered from trading Mookie Betts). It's amazing how much the José Abreu signing dragged them down.
We had a team of the NFL players referenced in this story play in our Monday night league after the Super Bowl ended a couple years ago. They were good sports and the athleticism was obvious, to the point that the lack of understanding the strategy was the bigger obstacle to winning games.
One of my favorite podcast/podcast empires gets its due, with a behind-the-scenes look at how it comes together that even I found enlightening.
