Atlanta Braves: a fundamental change to the minors coming?
MLB was already stubbornly pushing through a change that would cut minor league clubs by 25%. That was before the entire landscape of baseball – and sports – changed.
It was last Winter when we first learned that the Atlanta Braves stood to lose two of their minor league affiliates in a restructuring plan hatched by Major League Baseball (MLB).
Those teams were identified as their top-tier Rookie league club Danville Braves and the High-A Florida Fire Frogs.
As it happens, the Fire Frogs had already been relegated to nomad status after their own county kicked them out of town as part of a plan to convert the ballpark to an MLS (Soccer) training complex. They were slated to play what could be their last season at North Port this Summer at the Atlanta Braves new Spring facility, but …
A Baseball America report (subscription required) yesterday suggested that Minor League Baseball’s (MiLB’s) opposition to the MLB plan is crumbling.
While that might be understandable given current circumstances, this is still a bit surprising given that MiLB is now effectively fighting for its very survival. So following that report, they issued a statement via twitter directly countering Baseball America:
The real problem facing MiLB, however, is this: while there is a concerted effort taking place right now to figure out how major league baseball is going to salvage a season this Summer, there has been literally no news whatsoever about anything involving a minor league season.
A cancellation of minor league baseball for the year could financially ruin many of the lower-level clubs, and effectively end up forcing a de facto implementation of the MLB restructuring plan starting in 2021. Yet it appears we may be heading in that direction due to factors out of the control of either party.
Another – and much more subtle – fallout from a non-existent MiLB season this Summer involves the need for depth players at the major league level.
While the MLB rosters are expected to be expanded over the course of whatever kind of season we end up with, teams always need more players to fill gaps. The very least, the rest of the 40-man roster needs a place to play and be ready.
The North Port campus isn’t going to be enough by itself.
In other words: it’s a symbiotic relationship – and it always has been: MLB needs MiLB and vice versa.
Hopefully, MLB will get past their desire to drive down player development costs and recognize that their sport will be much more popular with more baseball and not less.
We’re not holding our breath on that point.