Major League Baseball is restructuring the minor leagues, with teams reduced from 160 to 120 in the process.
By La Velle E. Neal III / Star Tribune
The Minnesota Twins are looking for a new top farm team, and the St. Paul Saints are front and center in the discussion.
The Twins officially informed the owner of the Rochester Red Wings that the New York site will no longer be their Class AAA affiliate. It’s move that is part of a massive overhaul of minor league baseball.
According to a source with knowledge of discussions, the Twins spoke with Red Wings President and CEO Naomi Silver on Tuesday, with Red Wings employees learning shortly afterward.
As part of a complete restructuring of the relationship between MLB and Minor League Baseball, under negotiation all summer and expected to be finalized later this month, major league affiliates will be reduced to 120 teams, four per MLB parent plus a training-complex team for rookies, with short-season leagues being eliminated. Major league teams are using the reorganization to line up more geographically friendly affiliates.
“The Twins will not be commenting on our affiliates for 2021 at this time,” Twins President Dave St. Peter said Tuesday.
The 2020 season was to be the Twins’ 18th year with Rochester, but the COVID-19 outbreak forced teams to develop a select number of minor league players at alternate training sites during the 60-game regular season.
The Twins trained their minor leaguers at CHS Field in St. Paul, and just might continue the relationship. The Saints, who play in the independent American Association, have been talking with the Twins and MLB about an affiliation in recent months and, according to a source with knowledge of those discussions, those talks have been progressing well. In fact, there is a belief that a framework of a deal is in place.
One big hangup: The Saints would have to write an eight-figure check — perhaps as much as $20 million — in order to become an affiliate. There are no indications that their ownership group, which includes Marv Goldklang, Mike Veeck and comedian/actor Bill Murray, are willing to do that. The Saints have been seeking better terms as talks have continued, with some positive signs.
The Twins began the process looking at a few options, with Wichita and Sioux Falls, S.D. among the possibilities. But it’s believed that there’s strong mutual interest in a Twins-Saints partnership.
A requirement that Class AAA teams have stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000 would be waived in St. Paul’s case; the Saints had a Top 10 attendance across all of minor league baseball in 2019 at CHS Field, which has a capacity of 7,200.
Teams across the league are working on restructuring their minor league systems, with some teams already leaking their plans.
The Saints and the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters are believed to be the only two teams from independent baseball that will become affiliates.
*Editor’s Note – One report has it that the Washington Nationals are looking for a Triple A affiliate and that Rochester is being considered. Change is rare for the Red Wings. Since 1928, they have only 3 parent teams: the St. Louis Cardinals through 1960, the Baltimore Orioles from 1961 through 2002, and the Twins starting in 2003.