The Hagerstown Suns (Low A; Sally League) and the Washington Nationals extended their player-development contract (PDC) through the 2020 season.
Suns General Manager Travis Painter along with Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Vice President and Senior Advisor to the General Manager Bob Boone, Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Harris, and Director of Player Development Mark Scialabba all made the joint announcement on Monday.
“We’re very excited to extend our PDC with the Washington Nationals.” Painter said. “We’ve had a great relationship with the organization for over a decade and look forward to continuing that relationship for years to come.”
The Suns became a Nationals affiliate in 2007 and have a record of 837-733 since first PDC the two teams agreed to 13-years ago. Hagerstown has competed in the post season four times since their relationship with Washington began with two of those appearances, in 2013 and 2014, yielding appearances in the South Atlantic League Championship series. The Potomac Nationals, A-Advanced Affiliate in the Carolina League, also signed a two-year extension on Monday.
“Potomac and Hagerstown are tremendous assets to our player development system,” Rizzo said. “Their dedication to helping produce Major Leaguers and their assistance in rehabbing our injured players is second to none. We are happy to be able to continue working with each respective organization.”
Hagerstown has been a stop in the minors for a number of current and former Major Leaguers. The likes of Bryce Harper, Michael A. Taylor, 2017 World Series Champion Brad Peacock, 2014 SAL MVP Wilmer Difo, and 2018 Suns Outfielder Juan Soto have all called Historic Municipal Stadium home for some duration over the last 13 season of Suns baseball.
“We are excited to continue our relationship with Potomac and Hagerstown,” Harris said. “These two organizations – and communities – are key cogs in the development of our young players. In addition, their proximity to Washington, D.C. allows us to utilize them as an asset in the rehabilitation process.”
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.