The Nashville Sounds (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) and Texas Rangers will announce a new affiliation on Thursday, with the clubs set to enter into a four-year player development contract (PDC).
For the two teams, that announcement will come in the midst of what has been a busy affiliation cycle. The Oakland A’s ended their affiliation with Nashville by agreeing to a two-year PDC with the Las Vegas 51s (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), a move that was announced Monday. The Round Rock Express (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), meanwhile, are ending their affiliation with the Rangers and will seek a new major league parent club.
That has paved the way for an affiliation between the Sounds and Rangers. According to a Tuesday announcement from the Sounds, the two teams will formally announce their four-year PDC at a press conference at Nashville’s First Tennessee Park on Thursday afternoon. A four-year PDC means that the affiliation will run through the 2022 season.
As for the rest of Triple-A, the New York Mets purchased the Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International League) and are expected to shift their affiliation there. It is anticipated that the Houston Astros will take the place of the Rangers in Round Rock,
That has left the Washington Nationals and Fresno Grizzlies (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) to enter into an affiliation through the 2020 season, an agreement that was announced on Tuesday. The Grizzlies had been a farm club of the Astros for the past four seasons, but announced over the weekend that they will seek a new MLB parent club. The Nationals were previously affiliated with Syracuse.
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, we’re now at the point where MLB and MiLB teams can search for new affiliation options, so there’s always a shuffle of sorts at the end of the season.