With a week to go for MLB and MiLB teams to renew their current affiliations, we expect to see a lot of these kinds of announcements: the Idaho Falls Chukars (rookie; Pioneer League) and the Kansas City Royals extended their affiliation deal through 2020.
“We are happy to announce our extension with Idaho Falls,” said Royals Vice President/Assistant General Manager-Player Personnel J.J. Picollo. “We have a great relationship with their ownership, front office and fans and are proud of the successes we have shared together. We look forward to the coming years.”
Idaho Falls has served as the Royals’ Rookie-level affiliate since the 2004 season. A member of the Pioneer League, the Chukars won the league championship in 2013 and made another appearance in the league championship series in 2015. The club has called Melaleuca Field home since the 3,400-seat stadium opened prior to the 2007 season.
The Chukars are currently 39-32 overall this year and trail Grand Junction by 2.0 games in the Pioneer League South standings as they head into the final week of the regular season. Eleven members of the Royals’ current 25-man roster played a portion of their minor league careers in Idaho Falls.
You can read more about the current state of affiliations on our Affiliate Dance page. We expect a number of player development contracts to be renewed in the coming week, 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 through this coming weekend. After that, teams can file to search new affiliation options, so there’s always a shuffle of sorts at the end of the year.