LincolnDD

Here's something to keep an eye on: The Rochester club is currently operating under a month-to-month lease to use the stadium there, and the International League president is threatening relocation if the issue isn't resolved with a longer term deal reached. A negotiating tactic to be sure, but instability like that is typically a turn-off for Major League teams looking to affiliate, and the current PDC with Minnesota is up after the season. https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/columnists/andreatta/2018/01/29/rochester-red-wings-frontier-field-lease-cheryl-dinolfo-naomi-silver-monroe-county/1076403001/ The Red Wings are community owned. I'm not sure how the "take possession" would work. Forced sale? The Mets purchased the community-owned Syracuse team last year, but the situation obviously wasn't forced. The Syracuse team reportedly had at least one other offer to purchase from an unnamed MLB team, but the Mets were considered less likely to relocate the club (at least in the near future). Guesses as to the other team, assuming they'd be interested in this case as well? The Brewers seem like a handful of teams who'd fit as a potential buyer of an International League franchise.

The Royals have been in Omaha for nearly fifty(!) years. I wonder what territory they'd prefer? They did have a AA team in Wichita for a little while, and I think that's more or less "Royals Country". New facility might be a big draw? The park in Omaha isn't too old, though. Would the Twins be competition for an available Omaha?

Yeah, it was pretty ugly. And the Brewers stuck with Nashville in a substandard stadium for a while only to get booted when the new one opened. I don't think we'll see them reunite. I'd expect the Nationals to be pretty aggressive there, as there aren't many options for them to stay in the International League.

Yeah, it's a weird situation. I pinged someone at Ballpark Digest (they seem to be "in the know" with this stuff) and asked if there was a chance Colo Springs might end up going to Wichita next year instead of San Antonio, and received a terse "no" in response. So who knows. Wichita's announcement should offer some clarity, but that's been pending for weeks. I think the stadium lease the Elmore Group (owns both Colorado Springs and San Antonio) has with the city of San Antonio runs for a few more years, and with the move of the AA team to Amarillo moving pretty swiftly, it sure looks like the Sky Sox will be in San Antonio come 2019 to fulfill that lease. But if a new ballpark isn't approved, they may not stay there long-term. Whether that means Wichita will get them a few years down the road, or Wichita is working with another organization, I don't know. The fact that the Rangers' beat guy said El Paso and Wichita are two possibilities doesn't really help clarify things, either. If the rumor about the A's being on the outs in Nashville are true, and if the Rangers do target El Paso, it seems either Oakland or San Diego could be better fits for Fresno than the Brewers, so 2019 is still a huge question mark. The Brewers have that current relationship with the Sky Sox, and the Padres' AA is currently in San Antonio, so maybe we'll see both teams "fight" over the AAA team when it moves there (if the Rangers boot the Padres from El Paso). Ballpark Digest updated their affiliate tracking site. They used to look at Oakland in Nashville and SD in El Paso as likely, but they've added question marks to both. They've also added Oakland as a possible fit in Vegas in 2019, and have no guess as to who will be in San Antonio. They still list the Brewers (with a ?) next to Fresno, fwiw. https://ballparkdigest.com/200905261902/minor-league-baseball/news/affiliate-dance-2012

Pauley hosts the Brewers' radio post game shows. Previously, he called Sky Sox games. Definitely taking it with a grain of salt, but hoping he's right.

Anyone ever listen to Matt Pauly's podcast? Several weeks ago he reported he'd heard from a trusted source (so fwiw...) that the Nashville/Oakland relationship has soured, and that they're likely to split after 2018. This was before the Mets got Syracuse, and before the stuff I wrote above about the Rangers, so he was assuming A's > Fresno, Astros > Round Rock, Rangers > San Antonio, leaving Nashville for the Brewers. I think there will be a lot of movement this cycle, and the Nats are tougher competition for a site than the Mets would've been, but still pretty interesting. Last five minutes of the 10-05-17 podcast: http://www.wtmj.com/brewers-extra-innings-podcast

Some rumblings out of Texas that the Rangers, expecting soon to hear officially from Round Rock that they're not planning to renew, are unlikely to link up with San Antonio. No other details, but a Rangers beat reporter tweeted San Antonio looked like a no-go, and the Fort Worth paper said El Paso and Wichita are their preferred potential options. http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article184957603.html (last paragraph) Seems odd that a San Antonio team wouldn't want the Rangers and vice-versa, so I wonder if something else is up there. The push for AAA in San Antonio was strongly backed by their previous mayor, but the current one isn't as big fan of the idea. Rather, he wanted to put stadium funds towards a MLS team, though now it sounds like they won't get one of the new expansion teams. So I wonder if the Colorado Springs ownership group is concerned about the lack of commitment for a new park from the SA mayor and is instead looking to move to Wichita if they're willing to build a new park. If so, that would be an ideal fit for the Brewers, so pray for the Rangers going to El Paso in that scenario; I've heard the El Paso ownership would like to be aligned with a Texas team anyway. And I think the Padres might jump to Vegas and the new stadium regardless of what happens. I also wonder if the Royals might be interested in shifting to Wichita. They've been in Omaha for almost fifty years, but Wichita is Royals territory. If they leave Omaha, that would be a great fit for the Brewers (Twins as well).