The game of musical chairs at Triple-A just got smaller, as the Nashville Sounds (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) and the Milwaukee Brewers renewed their player-development agreement for two more years, leaving Houston and Toronto to fight over Las Vegas and Oklahoma City.
In six seasons as a Brewers affiliate, Nashville has produced five winning records, made the playoffs three times, and captured the 2005 Pacific Coast League title. The Sounds carry a 451-409 record over that stretch, the fourth-best mark among the 16 PCL clubs.
“Frank Ward and his ownership group have provided our Nashville club with a number of our baseball-needed requests and the Brewers hope a new stadium is in the future plans,” said Brewers GM Doug Melvin. “We appreciate the fans who have supported both the Sounds and the Brewers players who have earned their way to Milwaukee.”
“We are very pleased to continue our relationship with the Milwaukee Brewers and their staff. The product that they’ve put on the field here in Nashville speaks for itself,” said Sounds co-owner Frank Ward. “In addition, we are excited to know the Sounds will continue to play an integral role in developing the Brewers’ prospects on their way to Milwaukee.”
With the two-year agreement, there are only two Triple-A teams looking for affiliates: Las Vegas and Oklahoma City. (Technically, we’ve not seen anything from Sacramento/Oakland and Pawtucket/Boston reupping, but we’d be amazed if either pair left each other.) The two MLB teams left in the dance are Houston and Toronto, who had the Las Vegas 51s (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) as its top farm team last season. It’s an open secret Toronto wasn’t very happy in Vegas — playing in the hot desert sun didn’t agree with many of its players, apparently — and Houston was left in the lurch by the Round Rock Express (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).
Here’s a look at the current affiliate status.
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