Are the Nashville White Sox a realistic possibility? Why it makes sense

MLB expansion isn't expected anywhere soon, let alone in Nashville , but the rumblings about professional baseball coming to Music City never slow down.

However, league expansion wouldn't be required if an ownership group were to purchase an MLB team for sale and relocate it to the Nashville area. That's where the Chicago White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf come in.

The Athletic and Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that Reinsdorf is in active discussions about selling the White Sox, who had an MLB-record 121 losses in 2024.

Is Reinsdorf really interested in selling the White Sox? If he did, what group has the cash to bring them to Middle Tennessee?

The Nashville White Sox does have a decent ring to it.

Here are three reasons why the Nashville White Sox narrative makes sense, and three reasons why it doesn't.

Why the Nashville White Sox make sense

Dave Stewart says he has money to pull off MLB expansion

Bringing an MLB team to Nashville would likely require billions of dollars — up front.

Well, former MLB All-Star pitcher, three-time World Series champion and former MLB general manager Dave Stewart , has said he can acquire that kind of cash, telling The Tennessean in May that he has verbal agreements and nonbinding contracts with "five or six" investors.

"I'm not concerned about the money," Stewart said, adding that his investors could privately fund the MLB expansion fees — which could be upwards of $2 billion , roughly close to the value of an MLB team — and finance a new stadium and the property for it.

How long will Jerry Reinsdorf own Chicago White Sox?

Reinsdorf, 88, has owned the team since 1981.

Does he want to stick around for one of the largest MLB overhauls in history? The White Sox are in dire shape. They were historically bad in 2024, reaching a 21-game losing streak at one point and suffering through two 14-game skids. They were already 14.5 games out of first place in the AL Central by May 1.

Now might be a good time to sell. And if Reinsdorf does, it would create an opportunity Stewart has said he could seize for Nashville.

There's an ideal spot for Nashville White Sox stadium

The massive PSC Metals, a scrapyard near the East Bank in downtown Nashville and located next door to Nissan Stadium, will go up for auction this year .

If the auction comes to fruition, it would create an ideal spot for an MLB stadium, especially when the Titans complete the new Nissan Stadium .

Why the Nashville White Sox don't make sense

Would Jerry Reinsdorf really sell the Chicago White Sox?

Let's be honest: Reinsdorf has been down this road before. Is he bluffing?

He threatened to move the White Sox to Tampa Bay in the 1980s before the state of Illinois lawmakers caved and approved funding for the team's current stadium.

The White Sox also confirmed last year that Reinsdorf met with Nashville city leaders in what could be perceived as a transparent attempt to pressure Chicago again.

A spokesperson for Nashville mayor Freddie O'Connell told The Tennessean this week, "regarding the White Sox, we have not been involved in any conversations with any potential ownership or the league about this."

Could Dave Stewart really get an MLB team to Nashville?

Does Stewart's group really have the big cash totals to pull this off? And if so, it would require the type of home run negotiation that Stewart has yet to hit.

His group was unable to develop a Coliseum site in Oakland, despite negotiations to either lease or share a 120-acre property .

Would Nashville voters subsidize a stadium?

Let's say Stewart can secure a portion of the money needed, not all, and he acquires a team like the White Sox.

What if the one condition is that some of the bill is left for Nashville taxpayers? Are they going to go for that?

Nashville's housing costs, property taxes and general cost of living are already putting pressure on its citizens. Nashvillians might not be willing to partially fund the real estate and infrastructure for another professional sports team.

Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at and on the X platform, formerly Twitter,