While few MLB teams got their full wishlist, MLB did not push too hard to get teams to drop current affiliatesGETTY IMAGES
The reason for some teams making it onto MLB’s list of 119 teams invited to join the newly rearranged MiLB can be "boiled down to four factors: caliber of stadium facilities, geography, the desires of major league teams and political considerations," according to J.J. Cooper of BASEBALL AMERICA. But "often those four factors were in tension with each other," which explains why the 119 invitations sent out "do not always meet all of those criteria." The 120th invitation is "pending MLB's discussions with the city of Fresno and the Fresno Grizzlies." But at the end of the day, the desires of the MLB teams "largely trumped the other considerations if the factors were in conflict." The league stated it wanted minor league players to play in "top-notch facilities in leagues where teams were largely close together, cutting down on travel time." Also, it wanted those minor league teams to be "as close as possible to their respective MLB-parent club's city." But once MLB reached out to hear from its 30 clubs who they wanted as affiliates, it "quickly learned it was important to have all four affiliates as close to the big league city as possible only for some teams," and for others, that was "not nearly as important." While few MLB teams "got their full wishlist," MLB "did not push too hard to get teams to drop current affiliates" (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 12/9).
COULD BE MORE NEGOTIATIONS AHEAD: In DC, Dave Sheinin notes while the rollout "did not include a statement from MLB," it "demonstrated, in some cases painfully, the power MLB obtained this year by wresting control of its farm system from Minor League Baseball." In some cases, even the teams that received official invitations yesterday "expressed some reservations until the details of the player-development contracts that will govern the economic relationship between the MLB franchises and the affiliates can be sorted through -- a process that could take weeks." A source familiar with those details said that he "expects some 'long and difficult' negotiations ahead" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/10).
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN: In S.F., Henry Schulman noted the Giants’ longtime affiliate in the Northwest League, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, was "not extended an invitation to remain part of the MLB development system." Volcanoes CEO Mickey Walker "expressed the same frustration that several minor-league teams felt Wednesday from the lack of communication from their big-league partners and the league." He said that he "learned Salem-Keizer was out when the Giants tweeted their new affiliation list." Walker: “For a partnership of 26 years to end that way kind of feels like a slap in the face. That’s the toughest part to deal with" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/10).
