All is not well on the Southside of the Chicago.
The Chicago White Sox already had one avalanche of bad news shortly after the trade deadline, when players came out and criticized the clubhouse culture as rumors came out about Yasmani Grandal slapping Tim Anderson days after Anderson was dropped by Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez.
The sequel is more front office-based. The White Sox have fired Executive Vice President Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn, the team announced Tuesday. This comes the day after rumors surfaced owner Jerry Reinsdorf is considering moving the team after the team's lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires after 2029.
Williams had been with the team's front office since 2000, when he joined as GM. He had been the team's EVP since October 2012. Hahn had been with the White Sox front office since 2002, moving up to GM when Williams was promoted to EVP.
The timing of the firings almost certainly has nothing to do with the rumors of relocation. It's fairly common for teams to move on from failed regimes around this time of year, with the Rangers parting ways with Jon Daniels in August of last season. The Royals waited until September to fire Dayton Moore, but teams do things at different paces.
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"This is an incredibly difficult decision for me to make because they are both talented individuals with long-term relationships at the White Sox," Reinsdorf said in his. "Ken is like a son to me, and I will always consider him a member of my family. I want to personally thank Ken and Rick for all they have done for the Chicago White Sox, winning the 2005 World Series and reaching the postseason multiple times during their tenures. I have nothing but the greatest respect for them as people and appreciate the commitment and passion for the White Sox they exhibited over the years."
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The results simply weren't there in more recent seasons. Even in the abysmal AL Central, the White Sox have just three playoff appearances since that 2005 World Series win, with one being a wild card berth in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. They haven't made it out of the ALDS since 2005, further exacerbating the angst around the franchise.
Why were Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn fired?
Reinsdorf said in his statement the results simply didn't live up to the White Sox's expectations.
"Ultimately, the well-worn cliché that professional sports is results-oriented is correct.," Reinsdorf said. "While we have enjoyed successes as an organization and were optimistic heading into the competitive window of this rebuild, this year has proven to be very disappointing for us all on many levels. This has led me to the conclusion that the best decision for the organization moving forward is to make a change in our baseball department leadership."
The White Sox have just six winnings seasons since 2005, with one being 2020.
Even a division win in 2021 was torpedoed by a 3-1 ALDS loss to the Astros. That was the team's first winning season in a 162-game year since 2012.
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Chicago's first year under Pedro Grifol did nothing to allay the disaster that was Tony La Russa's tenure before him. The White Sox entered Tuesday 49-76, 16 games back of the lowly AL Central lead. Even a division win in 2021 was torpedoed by a 3-1 ALDS loss to the Astros.
The White Sox were full sellers at the deadline this year, offloading the likes of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Kendall Graveman, Jake Burger, and Keynan Middleton. From there, the writing was on the wall for the Chicago brass.
The White Sox's continued mediocrity since the World Series win -- a momentous feat in its own right, to be clear -- ultimately sunk Williams and Hahn. Loyalty will only get you so far when failure is so public. Williams and Hahn simply didn't do enough to stay on board.
White Sox relocation rumors
The other elephant in the room is, while unrelated to Williams and Hahn's departures, attributed to Reinsdorf himself.
The MLB rumor mill began to turn on Monday, with talk arising of the White Sox relocating or Reinsforf selling the team, opening it up to a move in the near future.
"The situation is the intersection of an owner who doesn't know how long he wants to keep the team and a strategic real estate decision where you either have to move or develop the area around the stadium, like the Ricketts did at Wrigley Field," a government official told The Daily Herald.
Small districts around diamonds are becoming a boon for owners. It is no secret John Angelos wants to build the area around Camden Yards into something akin to The Battery around the Braves' Truist Park. The problem is that Camden is nestled in downtown Baltimore, whereas Truist is in Cobb County, half an hour north of Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Athletics are looking to abscond entirely to Las Vegas, where the entertainment is built in, as the decrepit Oakland Coliseum continues to crumble.
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The White Sox would likely run into similar issues as the Orioles if they went the "build a district" route. Creating a fan haven is hard, and the location of Guaranteed Rate Field would make it near impossible. There simply isn't the space there is in Wrigleyville or Cobb County.
When does the White Sox lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expire?
The White Sox's lease with Guaranteed Rate Field expires after the 2029 season, and according to team spokesman Scott Reifert, no discussions about an extension have happened yet.
"We have not had any conversations about our lease situation, but with six years remaining, it is naturally nearing a time where discussions should begin to take place," Reifert said, per Crain's Chicago Business. "The conversations would be with the city, ISFA and the state and most likely would be about vision, opportunities and the future."
That is, of course, so vague as to be meaningless, which is almost certainly by design.
Where would the White Sox relocate?
While baseball fans undoubtedly don't want to entertain the thought of another team moving, there are reports about where the White Sox could move if they leave the ballpark looming over I-94.
Two of the early possibilities being floated are a move to the suburbs (something the Chicago Bears are also considering up in the South Loop) or Nashville, according to Crain's.
Nashville has found itself to be the Belle of the Ball in recent months. Angelos is yet to reach a lease agreement with Camden Yards to keep the Orioles there past the end of the season, and despite Angelos' repeated insistence the Orioles will remain in Baltimore, there has been some justified consternation about the delays. Angelos has ties to Nashville, and has proven to be entirely self-serving in his ownership of the Orioles to date.
With that being said, the Orioles' recent success would make moving them extremely difficult, and MLB commissioner Robert Manfred has voiced his confidence the Orioles will stay in Baltimore for the foreseeable future.
That could, in theory, open the door for a White Sox move to Nashville. But all of these rumors are well within their fledgling stages, and would need significantly more context to be taken seriously.
The only thing that's certain is the winds of change are a-blowin' in the Windy City. Williams and Hahn have been staples as White Sox executives, but it's clear a change was necessary, if not overdue. The stadium situation will unfold as it will in the coming months and years. But for the time being, it's time to start thinking who will make the White Sox better in the here-and-now.