The Los Angeles Angels and Mobile BayBears (Class AA; Southern League) have extended their development contract (PDC) through 2022, meaning that the Angels will remain parent club of the BayBears franchise after it moves to Madison, AL in 2020.
“We look forward to continuing our affiliation with the Los Angeles Angels over the next four years, with the final season at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile and our future home in North Alabama,” said Ralph Nelson, the Managing Partner & CEO of BallCorps. “The Angels ownership, front office, coaches, medical staff, and players are all quality individuals who have made this partnership successful over the past two years. We have seen continued success from the Angels organization, which will bring a high quality of baseball to North Alabama beginning in 2020.”
In an 18-month span, the Angels farm system has improved from No. 30 to No. 10 in all of baseball, jumping 20 spots in Baseball America’s team-by-team rankings. 19-year-old outfielder Jo Adell, the top prospect in the organization and No. 10 overall selection in the 2017 MLB Draft, was recently promoted to Mobile and represented the Angels in this year’s SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
“We are very excited to continue our relationship with the BayBears franchise, as well as with the fans all throughout the state of Alabama,” said Angels General Manager Billy Eppler. “We would like to thank Ralph Nelson, Roger Wexelberg, and their staff for their efforts throughout this process. The community and front office in Mobile have been great assets for our organization’s player development process over the last two years, and we look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come in the great community of North Alabama.”
Over the past two seasons in Mobile, 11 former BayBears have appeared with the Angels. Additionally, four members of the 2018 team spent time with the Major League club this year. Six of the Angels Top 10 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, were members of the BayBears in 2018. This season, Mobile finished with the best first-half record by an Angels Double-A affiliate since the 2011 Arkansas Travelers, led by future Major League All-Star Mike Trout.
You can read more about the current state of affiliations on our Affiliate Dance page. We expect a number of affiliations to be renewed in coming weeks, but there are always intriguing openings at every level of baseball. As you can see on the Affiliate Dance page, MLB and MiLB teams can renew their existing affiliations at any point. At the end of the 2018 season, teams can file to search new affiliation options, so there’s always a shuffle of sorts at the end of the year.