LincolnDD

The Astros/Fresno split became official today.

Really nice article out of Dallas that gives solid detail on what each side of the affiliation is responsible for financially. It also puts some emphasis on why the facilities are so important these days. https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/2018/09/14/5-mlb-teams-need-triple-affiliate-rangers-one-pairing-franchise-wont-simple

Yeah, for the Rangers, it's weighing geography versus facilities. Same for the A's, too.

Nashville has informed the A's that they're not welcome back in 2019. Those Sounds owners are a finicky bunch, aren't they? https://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/article/Sources-A-s-told-they-won-t-be-back-at-13232600.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social Second mention of the Rangers in Nashville, for whatever that's worth.

The travel does get overblown a bit, and the Brewers wouldn't be the first to experience that sort of inconvenience (the very eastern Marlins have been in the PCL most of their existence, including two separate stops in Alberta, Canada). It is very rough on the players, especially in an era that's really upped the emphasis on player development, though. But it is what it is. The best way to look at it is any current option is an improvement over Colorado Springs. If it ends up being Fresno or San Antonio, it'll be nice to get the AAA arms back into a neutral playing environment. If it's Vegas, the players will end up in some of the nicest digs in AAA.

So THIS is pretty interesting... https://wtop.com/washington-nationals/2018/09/where-will-the-nats-triple-a-team-end-up-in-2019/ So pick your poison. The article also assumes the A's take Vegas, which leaves San Antonio and Fresno for the Brewers and Nationals. I wonder if the relationship with the CS/SA ownership group would come into play.

And the Rockies own the team in Grand Junction, so they won't be moving to Colorado Springs (unless something weird and drastic happens...).

It's in their best interest to. Nashville is the only good fit. We can sell ourselves on some of the benefits of Vegas (new facilities, lots of flights) and Fresno (neutral playing environment, especially compared to CS), but Nashville has all that stuff and without any of the flaws of the other two. It'd be different if there were other good options like an Indy or NOLA/Wichita, but now's not the time to let a grudge get in the way of what's best for the team/personnel. I've been pretty firmly in the "it's gonna be Fresno" camp for the Crew, with the Nats in Nash, but from the Nashville POV, I think Milwaukee is the better fit: better record at AAA the last couple of years, and I think Washington would be less likely to send rehabbing players there because they've got closer affiliates in Virginia and Maryland. I also think Milwaukee would be more committed to the relationship, with Washington having an eye on returning the the International League asap. So the last thing we need is that nonsense from a few years ago getting in the way of a reunion. Nashville were the bad guys four years ago, but hopefully everyone can get over it.

It was my understanding that the PDC had to be in 2 year groups (either 2-4-6-8 etc). I learned last week (as Cleveland & Lake County in low A Midwest league announced their extension) that the agreed to PDC can't go beyond the current CBA along with being a 2 year cycle. I guess that is a newer wrinkle. Curious about the details of that. There do seem to be fewer four-year deals this cycle, but there are a handful, so I wonder if there are just exceptions to the 2-year/CBA rule you mentioned. A few weeks ago the Angels and Mobile signed a four-year deal with their current one set to this month. The Angels also extended with SLC through 2022, though that was on an existing deal that originally ran through 2020. Last March, the Pirates extended an additional four years with Altoona on a deal that was set to expire this year. I could only find a handful more that run past 2020 in addition to the three I just mentioned, though not the signing details (Yankees/Trenton - AA; Tigers/West Michigan - Low A; Cubs/Eugene - SS A; Vancouver/Blue Jays - SS A). Two-year deals are usually the norm, but only seven deals that run past two years feels low. If it's possible, I could see the Astros going four years with Round Rock, and the Mets can do whatever they want now with Syracuse. But I'd expect the rest of the remaining AAA deals to be made to be two-year regardless of any sort of limit placed by an expiring CBA. If there is a limit, that could make the next PDC cycle a lot of fun. That and the prospect of potential MLB expansion (if Oakland and Tampa get their stadium stuff together) and the trickle down into MiLB would be crazy.

ESPN 102.5 The Game ‏ @1025TheGame Mayor Briley: "I did meet with the owners of the (Nationals) not about expansion, but the potential to align with the Sounds to be their triple A team. We've heard several major league teams looking at Nashville with the A's probably trying to get back towards the west coast." 10:24 AM - 6 Sep 2018

Wichita making the move official now. New Orleans team is moving to Kansas (more accurately, they've filed the papers to move, pending approval).

Negotiation period is Sept. 16-30, so during that window, and probably closer to the 16th than the 30th. Might start hearing some rumors before then, but can't be official until the window is open.

Yeah, that's how I read it, too. Same owners for the AAA and AA teams (currently own AAA; will buy AA). And it's almost certainly going to be New Orleans making the move; being reported by media in both NOLA and Wichita now. Jackson is solid speculation: Bad attendance, old(er) stadium (relative to the league).

So this is pretty interesting, as there's finally some movement in the long-rumored Wichita situation: That future may be affected by an expected announcement this week about the status of a new ballpark at the Lawrence-Dumont Stadium site, as word is that the city has reached an agreement with a Class AAA Pacific Coast League team to move there. As part of the move, the PCL ownership group would buy an existing Class AA Southern League team and move it to their present market. It sounds like the arrangements on the MiLB side are close to final, and we expect an announcement as soon as Thursday. https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/09/05/future-of-wichita-baseball-could-become-clearer-soon/ New Orleans is almost certainly the team they're talking about. Can't see the other PCL teams in that region (Nashville, Memphis) moving, and NOLA was almost sold a few years back to the Astros (who were going to move them to the Houston suburbs). Obviously doesn't help this year, but Wichita would be a nice target the next time around. They currently have a PDC with Miami through 2020.

The Nationals in Nashville feels like a strong possibility, though it's not anything they can finalize until late September. Agreed how ever we both know an agreement can be made privately and then “finalized “ in September. Right. Just wanted to emphasis that officially "finalized" is still a month+ away. Weird that the Nats pre-game show would openly talk about it. I don't know what the penalties are, but I'm sure they want to avoid the appearance of tampering.

The Nationals in Nashville feels like a strong possibility, though it's not anything they can finalize until late September.

Am I correct in saying that the biggest negative in any of these cities is Fresno having a super small/limited airport? Yeah, either that or the hitter-friendly environment in Vegas; not sure if they're doing anything with the new stadium there to try to mitigate that. I've heard the facilities aren't great in San Antonio, but that will almost certainly be the Rangers' issue to deal with.

The Twins re-upped with Rochester today, which unofficially locks up the International League. Still looking like Fresno, Nashville or Vegas.

Not much has changed, though Toronto and Buffalo recently re-upped. Not a surprising move at all there. I think it's still safe to assume the only real questions marks are Fresno, Vegas, Nashville and Rochester, and the Brewers, A's, Nationals and Twins are the most likely teams playing for those cities. Wish I'd bookmarked this stuff, but I have read at least one suggestion that the Diamondbacks would be a potential fit in Vegas given it's proximity to Phoenix. If that happened, would the A's pivot to Reno? I've also read recently that the A's are notorious "new ballpark whores", which I guess explained why they were so willing to go to a bad geographic fit in Nashville a few years back. So that could mean they'll push hard for Vegas. But also worth noting that a new ballpark is being built in Madison, AL, for the current Mobile franchise, and Madison isn't too far south from Nashville. Would the A's jump from the Texas League to the Southern League for the new park and stick with Nashville to put AA and AAA close?

Yeah, that's pretty interesting. I wonder what the time frame is for Pueblo (and Windsor, also mentioned) in relation to the ever-growing rumblings about MLB expansion. Seems like the Pioneer League would be the more likely league to grab any related expansion franchises (as opposed to the Appy League). Looks like the author got his leagues mixed up. West Virginia is in the SAL, which isn't short-season. The NE short-season league is the NY-PENN. Doesn't matter, as I think he was right to peg the Pioneer League as the logical fit, and that rumblings of an 'A' level team were wrong.

Fresno's sale became official today, and the stadium lease was extended through 2036. https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/02/27/new-fresno-grizzlies-owners-finalized-chukchansi-park-lease-extended/

Yep. Given there's still seven months to go, I wouldn't be surprised to see most if not all of the unsigned but assumed sites fall off the board before we get to the signing period, leaving just those four (along with Round Rock and Syracuse) by the time we get to September. I wonder if the Twins would risk losing Rochester to compete with others for Nashville, as Ballpark Digest suggested? Their last two renewals have come in August. Mets/Vegas and Astros/Fresno both renewed in August last time around rather than risk Colorado Springs, because "the devil you know...". I do hope that Brewers management is at least being a little proactive with CS/SA ownership group about extending. I'm sure the ownership group would prefer the Texas affiliation, but doesn't hurt to try. Unlikely, but it would be funny to see all teams able to renew before the signing period do so, leaving the Rangers and Nationals to fight over Vegas. But at the end of the day, you really can't do worse than Colorado Springs. And if it is Fresno, then start to pay attention to MLB expansion; aggressive MLB owners should start planning to grab one of the AAA expansion teams if/when MLB expands.

Rochester settled its stadium issue this week and there's now a ten-year lease in place, so no more excitement there.

Definitely possible. With San Diego renewing in El Paso, The A's would be the likely primary competition in Vegas if the rumors about them being on the outs in Nashville are true. And if the A's are out in Nash, they may just opt for the best geographic fit in Fresno anyway. You'd still have difficulty evaluating players in the high altitude, but at least they'd be in a presumably top notch facility.

El Paso re-upped with San Diego today, through 2020. Not ideal. https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/02/06/chihuahuas-padres-extend-affiliation-through-2020/