Reps from the Minnesota Twins will reportedly be in Cedar Rapids today to tour Veterans Memorial Stadium and meet with the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low Class A; Midwest League) about an affiliation deal.
The Kernels cut ties with former parent Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the end of this season in hopes of landing a parent closer to home. The Minnesota Twins would certainly fit that desire.
We could see multiple teams shifting affiliations in the Low Class A Midwest League: besides Cedar Rapids, other teams seeking new parents are the Quad Cities River Bandits, Burlington Bees, Beloit Snappers, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Kane County Cougars and Peoria Chiefs. In the Low Class A Sally League, the Hagerstown Suns and Lexington Legends are seeking new parents. On the MLB front, the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Houston Astros are seeking new affiliation deals.
The key to what happens in the Midwest League: the Fort Wayne TinCaps. It’s no secret Parkview Field is one of the best facilities in all of baseball, and any MLB team would be happy to place a team there. (Indeed, we’re a little surprised the Twins aren’t shopping around; Minnesota used to be the parent both in Fort Wayne and Quad Cities, and there’s a lot of team history wrapped up in both cities.) After that, Quad Cities would seem to be the second-best location for an affiliate, and it sounds like there’s already been talk between team ownership and desirable parents.
Here’s a look at the current affiliate status.
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