The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Class AA; Southern League) have entered into a new affiliation with the Minnesota Twins, announcing a two-season player development contract (PDC) through 2020.
This marks a change in parent club for the Blue Wahoos, who had been affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. It was learned recently that the Blue Wahoos were considering new affiliation options, including potential partnerships with the Twins and San Diego Padres, but Monday’s announcement solidifies their new relationship with Minnesota.
“This was our first time going through this process it was beyond expectations,” Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith said in a press statement. “The Padres and Twins were both great. We learned so much during the process on what we can do better based on how they both operate. In an operational area such as speeding up food delivery the Padres still offered to share their processes with us even after learning the decision to sign with the Twins. The Twins, like the Padres, are committed to a partnership that will help the Wahoos continue to get better.”
The Twins were previously affiliated at the Double-A level with the Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League), who announced a PDC with the Reds last week.
“We are thrilled to sign a two-year player development contract with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos,” Twins Director, Minor League Operations Jeremy Zoll said in a statement. “Their owners and leadership team have a clear commitment to positively impacting the community in Pensacola, and we believe that the values of the Twins and Blue Wahoos could not be better aligned. We are looking forward to being true partners to Pensacola in both business and baseball operations and are excited for our AA players to have the opportunity to call the Pensacola community their home.”
You can read more about the current state of affiliations on our Affiliate Dance page. We’re in the final stages of the 2018 Affiliate Dance, as partnerships must be finalized by today. If not, PDCs will automatically renew for two more years.