The San Francisco Giants will add the Eugene Emeralds to its affiliate lineup, joining holdovers Sacramento River Cats, Richmond Flying Squirrels and San Jose Giants, based on invites issued today.
Eugene had been an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs as a Short Season A league member, but with the raising of the Northwest League to High A, the Cubs conflicted out because of its tight affiliation with the South Bend Cubs. That opened the door for the Giants, which had previously been affiliated with Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League. Similarly, the Giants had been affiliated with the Augusta GreenJackets as a Low-A Sally League team, but with the California League moving to Low A and the Giants already owning the San Jose Giants, the Giants were conflicted out, making a move to the Ems a natural.
“As we look to the next chapter of Ems Baseball, we are excited at the prospect of being a San Francisco Giants affiliate,” Emeralds general manager Allan Benavides said in a press statement. “There is no denying the San Francisco Giants reputation in player development. They have dominated the Northwest League for years winning five League titles since 1998. Just knowing the sheer amount of Giants fans in the greater Eugene market, we know this will be a game-changer for Ems fans. At the end of the day, we are just incredibly eager to get back on the field and showcase our award-winning gameday experience for our fans at PK Park next year.”
The Richmond Flying Squirrels issued the following statement: “On Wednesday, the Richmond Flying Squirrels received an invitation to remain the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. We look forward to reviewing the specifics of the invitation and final document. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on being an impactful member of the Richmond community and look forward to welcoming fans back to The Diamond as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Here’s the most up-to-date information about the current affiliation status.
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