The Indianapolis Indians (Class AAA; International League) and the Pittsburgh Pirates extended their player-development contract (PDC) through the 2020 season.
The announcement was made by Pirates Executive Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington, Pirates Director of Player Development, Larry Broadway, and Indians Vice President of Baseball and Administrative Affairs, Cal Burleson.
“The Pirates have one of the best player development programs in professional baseball and we appreciate the relationship between our two organizations,” said Burleson. “In addition to providing us with talented players and leadership, Pittsburgh has established a very positive culture throughout their organization that focuses on constant improvement, playing the game the right way, and being good role models in the community.”
“We are thrilled to be continuing our relationship with the Indianapolis Indians, their terrific ownership, front office staff and fans,” said Huntington.
Indianapolis has been Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate since 2005. The Indians have qualified for the postseason and won at least 80 games in three of the last four years, and is the only IL team to post a winning record in each of the past five years – seven times in 11 seasons since joining with Pittsburgh.
“I could not be more pleased that we have extended our relationship with the Indians through the 2020 season,” said Broadway. “Indianapolis is a wonderful community, Victory Field is an outstanding ballpark and the entire Indians’ staff is committed to making their operation the best in baseball. We look forward to building on this tremendous affiliate relationship over the next five years, and hopefully many more beyond that.”
You can view the current state of affiliations and player-development contracts here.