Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So The dominoes are starting to fall in the MiLB reshuffle for next season and beyond, with the Somerset Patriots (NJ) moving from the independent Atlantic League to the Eastern League and becoming the new AA affiliate of the Yankees.
The Trenton Thunder (Yanks old AA team) have an invite, along with the Staten Island Yankees to join the independent Atlantic League. The Hudson Valley Renegades will be upgraded to the High-A team of the Yankees and play in a new Mid-Atlantic High-A league. The Yanks old High-A team, the Tampa Tarpons will become their Low-A team with the Florida State League going from High-A to Low-A.
I suspect the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Mets current AA team in the Eastern League might be moving to Coney Island where the Cyclones play.
The Charleston Riverdogs just lost their affiliation with the Yankees, but should be safe from contraction.
Here's the tentative plan MLB has for MiLB, now that they are taking it over:
LOW-A
California League (8 teams)
Florida State League (10 teams-reduced from 12 teams)
South Atlantic League (12 teams-reduced from 14 teams)
HIGH-A
Midwest League (reduced from 14 teams, probably to 10 teams?)
Northwest League (converted from short season, maybe only 6 teams?)
Carolina League (reduced from 10 teams, maybe down to 8 teams?)
New Mid-Atlantic League (maybe only 6 teams?)
Where will the Fireflies end up? I think they will either stay in the Sally League at Low-A or move up to the Carolina League and High-A. While jumping all the way to AA and the Southern League would be nice, I just don't see that happening, mainly due to geography and Columbia being on the eastern edge of that league, but you never know*!
Stay tuned, there will probably be more announcements over the next month or so.
*I do think with Columbia's metro size and beautiful new ballpark, they could have a AA team, if only the Southern League was a little further east. And it does seem like the Southern League might lose three teams, Jackson and Chattanooga to contraction and Jacksonville moving up to AAA and the Texas league will gain two AA teams in this reshuffling. Could Columbia replace Jacksonville in the Southern League, hmmmmm........?
That's interesting, I knew they were eliminating some of the rookie-type levels but I didn't know they were looking at shuffling teams around. I agree Columbia seems like a big enough market for something higher than low-A. But then that's what Charleston, Augusta and Greenville all have.
That's interesting, I knew they were eliminating some of the rookie-type levels but I didn't know they were looking at shuffling teams around. I agree Columbia seems like a big enough market for something higher than low-A. But then that's what Charleston, Augusta and Greenville all have.
Yeah, it's nice to have in-state rivalries when it comes to professional sports, even if they are just minor leagues where a bunch of teams all play in the same league, plus it cuts down on travel costs!
I forgot to add that the Mets will not be affiliated with Columbia anymore, the Mets new Low-A team will probably be the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League, which are owned by the Mets.
I hear look for an AL Central team to possibly become the new affiliate of the Fireflies, it will most likely depend on what level (High-A , Low-A, etc.) Columbia will become.
Hmm, I actually wouldn't hate losing the Mets affiliation, this being Braves country and a lot of us here including me are Braves fans. It was kind of awkward that our minor league team was with the Braves' main rival. Although it came in handy when it brought Tebow to town :-p
Hmm, I actually wouldn't hate losing the Mets affiliation, this being Braves country and a lot of us here including me are Braves fans. It was kind of awkward that our minor league team was with the Braves' main rival. Although it came in handy when it brought Tebow to town :-p
So I was looking at the teams in the Florida State League, which will become Low-A next year and there are rumors 2 teams will be contracted and I do wonder if the Florida Fire Frogs, the Braves current High-A team, is one of those teams contracted. They are the only Braves minor league team not owned by the Braves, Manatees Baseball Club LLC. owns them.
Now, I don't want to get people's hopes up in the Midlands and start my own rumors, but I wonder, just maybe, will the Columbia Fireflies move to the Carolina League (High-A) and become the affiliate of the Braves, they would still have an in-state rival in Myrtle Beach in that league?
The Braves minor leagues could be like this:
AAA Gwinnett
AA Mississippi
High-A Columbia
Low-A Rome
Or maybe the Augusta GreenJackets might move up to High-A and the Carolina League and become affiliated with the Braves. The Augusta metroplex has around 608,000 as compared to Columbia's 825,000. The Myrtle Beach metroplex has about 460,000 and they have a High-A team, so I guess Augusta has enough people for High-A as well, especially if it's a Braves affiliate?
If the Fireflies hook up with an AL Central team, there are a few possibilities, it won't be the White Sox, it could be either the Indians or Twins though.
If the Fireflies change affiliation, does that mean all they players and coaches/managers are gone too? Not sure how this all works. I assume they are currently employed by the Mets.
If the Fireflies change affiliation, does that mean all they players and coaches/managers are gone too? Not sure how this all works. I assume they are currently employed by the Mets.
Yep, all of the managers/coaches and players are on "loan" from the MLB parent club and get paid by the MLB team.
There is a general manager, but they are basically in charge of the business side of things (tickets, marketing, corporate sponsors, etc.) and not signing players or trading them like in the majors and they work for the owners of the minor league team, which sometimes could be the major league team.
MLB teams owning their farm system teams has been getting quite popular over the last decade or so where the MLB team will own 1 or more of their minor league teams, the Braves have been doing that for the last 30 or so years.
So I was looking at the teams in the Florida State League, which will become Low-A next year and there are rumors 2 teams will be contracted and I do wonder if the Florida Fire Frogs, the Braves current High-A team, is one of those teams contracted. They are the only Braves minor league team not owned by the Braves, Manatees Baseball Club LLC. owns them.
Now, I don't want to get people's hopes up in the Midlands and start my own rumors, but I wonder, just maybe, will the Columbia Fireflies move to the Carolina League (High-A) and become the affiliate of the Braves, they would still have an in-state rival in Myrtle Beach in that league?
The Braves minor leagues could be like this:
AAA Gwinnett
AA Mississippi
High-A Columbia
Low-A Rome
Or maybe the Augusta GreenJackets might move up to High-A and the Carolina League and become affiliated with the Braves. The Augusta metroplex has around 608,000 as compared to Columbia's 825,000. The Myrtle Beach metroplex has about 460,000 and they have a High-A team, so I guess Augusta has enough people for High-A as well, especially if it's a Braves affiliate?
If the Fireflies hook up with an AL Central team, there are a few possibilities, it won't be the White Sox, it could be either the Indians or Twins though.
My money is on the Fire Frogs franchise either being contracted or purchased outright by Atlanta. They were slated to play 2020 in Atlanta's Spring Training ballpark in North Port after the city of Kissimmee chose to buy out their lease so that their park could be converted to a soccer stadium. That said I doubt the Braves are either who you want OR who's interested. The Braves have made it no secret that they want to own their entire development system and High-A was the one piece they didn't own. They tried to set up a move where they'd purchase the Lynchburg Hillcats and move them to Wilmington, NC but that fell through when Wilmington's voters rejected a new ballpark. With Jason Freier's Hardball Capital (considered one of the better ownership groups in MiLB) owning the Fireflies, I doubt they'd be interested in selling to the Braves.
I also doubt Double-A will be a reasonable jump. The Carolina Mudcats (who play in Zebulon, NC, near Raleigh) had to drop from the Southern League to the Carolina League due to travel restrictions placed on affiliates with regards to days off after travel of so many hours. The Southern League has pretty much become centered around the deep south - TN, AL, MS, and the Florida Panhandle. I think the Fireflies would have the same issues the Mudcats had, especially with the closest team being in Kodak, TN.
My money is an affiliation with Cleveland. The Twins are signed with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels through 2022 and Fort Myers plays at the Twins spring training park. It makes sense for them to stay together as the FSL drops from High-A to Low-A (perhaps swapping in the Cedar Rapids Kernals as their High-A affiliate as the Midwest League jumps from Low-A to High-A). Cleveland, meanwhile, currently has their Low-A affiliate as the Lake County Captains in the Midwest League and their High-A affiliate as the Carolina League Lynchburg Hillcats (with that affiliation ending this year). With the Midwest League jumping up to High-A, I imagine they choose Lake County over Lynchburg which would then open up a Low-A slot for the Indians. Meanwhile, Lynchburg might end up as one of the contracted teams or end up with a different affiliate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And it does seem like the Southern League might lose three teams, Jackson and Chattanooga to contraction and Jacksonville moving up to AAA and the Texas league will gain two AA teams in this reshuffling. Could Columbia replace Jacksonville in the Southern League, hmmmmm........? 
