The White Sox's plan to shift the controlling interest from Jerry Reinsdorf to Justin Ishbia might be convoluted, and it might offer no satisfactory action until 2034, but at least it's happening. As the Minnesota Twins have shown, just like the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals before them, it's not a guarantee that somebody will meet the asking price.
The Pohlad family became the latest owners to put their team on the block, only to withdraw it after Ishbia abandoned his pursuit, and no other potential buyer made the grade. The Pohlads instead announced on Wednesday that they will remain in control of the Twins, but they will add two "significant limited partnership groups" into the fold. That's how Ishbia's investment in the White Sox was initially described, but Dan Hayes says there's no pathway to ownership in Minnesota. (Granted, the White Sox also maintained that Ishbia's investment came with no pathway to controlling interest, but reporters tended to connect the dots regardless, and nobody's doing that here.)
It's the worst-case scenario for Twins fans, who are as stuck with the Pohlads as the Pohlads are stuck owning the Twins. This is the third time the family has tried to get rid of the club. They attempted to sell them to Don Beaver, who intended to move it to North Carolina, but the deal evaporated when North Carolina voters rejected funding the construction of a ballpark (Beaver instead bought the Charlotte Knights, and owned them until selling to Diamond Baseball Holdings in 2024). The Pohlads also tried to sell the team to Major League Baseball in an attempt to contract the team, but a judge stopped it in 2001.
The Twins' nihilistic trade deadline is the latest reflection of the Pohlads' disconnect from the fan base, and while the addition of new limited partners will put them on more solid financial footing, there's still this core issue of caring that's going unaddressed.
The continued presence of the Pohlads is good news for the White Sox, it's not great for the rest of the league. As the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin noted, this may be fuel for the owners' drive to institute a salary cap in the next CBA, because they believe that controlled player costs would be a boon for franchise values. And even if the CBA negotiations weren't around the corner, it's troubling that so many markets are stuck with owners who have no material vision for improving their circumstances.
Spare Parts
In an online survey of 653 South Loop residents, 73 percent were "supportive" of the plan to build a 22,000-seat soccer stadium on the plot of land known as The 78. In one development that's pertinent to White Sox fans if the hopes for a ballpark there remain alive, Related Midwest has withdrawn the plans to build a CTA Red Line station at 15th and Clark.
This Jon Greenberg column brings up a quote from Cubs GM Carter Hawkins that absolutely could've come out of the mouth of Rick Hahn.
"Teams are trying to find that guy that can lock down the eighth or ninth inning but that also costs a lot. That costs a lot of future wins. We have a responsibility to the 2025 Cubs but also the 2032 Cubs. That's not always popular in the moment, but it's decisions we have to make."
While Josh Naylor's baserunning exploits were acutely felt by White Sox fans who already dreaded his power-hitting exploits, he's 22-for-24 on the season because nobody can stop him, or most other baserunners for that matter.
The best argument for a White Sox return to relevance is that baseball is a zero-sum game, and teams that were thought to be in a superior position are eating it right now.
For those keeping an eye on the bottom of the standings, the Rockies lost their eighth game in a row back on Monday, which dropped them to 30-88, or a 41-win pace when extrapolated to 162 games. But then the Rockies picked themselves up off the mat to take the last two games from St. Louis, and now they're on track for 43 wins. If you believe in their overall winning percentage, it's going to come down to the wire. If you believe their current form is better reflected by their 23-39 record since the start of June, they're more likely to finish closer to 50 wins than 40.
