Minor League Baseball Shakeup has begun:New York Yankees Minor League Baseball leaving Trenton, New Jersey, Staten Island, New York, Pulaski, Virginia and Charleston, S.C.(Yankees dump Charleston Riverdogs, Who’s Next?)

from www.nj.com/New Jersey.com:

Minor League Baseball Shakeup has begun:New York Yankees Minor League Baseball leaving Trenton, New Jersey, Staten Island, New York, Pulaski, Virginia and Charleston, S.C.

The New York Yankees have ditched their longtime relationship with Trenton, New Jersey — and threw a slight jab on their way out.

In a press release, the team said it moved its Double-A affiliation to the Somerset Patriots of TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater because they’re just better than Arm & Hammer Park and the Thunder.
(The Somerset Patriots, formerly of the Atlantic League, along with the High Point Rockers.)

“This decision was made strictly on the basis of what we believe to be the best facility to develop our young players,” the club said.

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There had been grumblings in recent years from the Yankees about the conditions at Arm & Hammer Park, especially when it came to the mound and its infield.

The Yankees will keep their Triple-A affiliation with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Somerset will take over as their Double-A club. The Yankees also announced that the Hudson Valley Renegades in Wappinger Falls, N.Y., will take over High-A operations. The Tampa Tarpons — the Yankees former High-A affiliate – will switch to Low-A.

The Yankees will leave behind their affiliations with Staten Island (short-season), Pulaski (short-season) and Charleston (Low-A) as Minor League Baseball cuts its teams from 160 to 120.

“Restructuring our minor league affiliations — especially with the additions of Somerset and Hudson Valley — gives us greater continuity to streamline and improve the development of our minor league system,” general manager Brian Cashman said in the statement. “The relationships we have formed with all of our teams will allow for a more consistent application of training with similarly aligned facilities in terms of structure, quality and ease of travel. We are confident that these changes will greatly benefit our players and Yankees fans for many years to come.”

One thought on “Minor League Baseball Shakeup has begun:New York Yankees Minor League Baseball leaving Trenton, New Jersey, Staten Island, New York, Pulaski, Virginia and Charleston, S.C.(Yankees dump Charleston Riverdogs, Who’s Next?)

  1. This tells you a couple of things. 1. The entire Florida State League is switching to Low A. 2. The South Atlantic League will likely downsize, although another team could affiliate with Charleston, SC. 3. The Hudson Valley Renegades becoming a High A team indicates there could be a new league forming in the northeast. Might also include, say, Lakewood (now known as the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, by the way) and perhaps Delmarva. Major League Baseball is driving the changes. It’s possible that affiliates will be assigned by MLB instead of negotiated by each local club. Something needs to happen soon because every team has got to have a schedule.

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