Jackson loses team as affiliated minors shrink to 120

NEW YORK (AP) — Jackson, Tennessee, lost its Double-A baseball team for next season, one of 40 cities dropped as professional affiliates as Major League Baseball went through with its plan to cut to 120 farm teams.

The New York-Penn League, which started in 1939, was eliminated and the Pioneer League, founded the same year, lost its affiliated status and became an independent partner league. The Appalachian League was converted to a college summer circuit for rising freshmen and sophomores.

Each franchise’s top four affiliates will include one team each at Triple-A, Double-A, High-A and Low-A. Additional clubs are allowed at spring training complexes and in the Dominican Republic.

Jackson had fielded a Double-A team since 1998, first as a farm team of the Chicago Cubs through 2006, then of Seattle through 2016 and Arizona since 2017. The Amarillo Sod Poodles will switch to the Diamondbacks from San Diego, and the San Antonio Missions from Milwaukee to the Padres, dropping down from Triple-A.

“If we have the necessary advocacy, Major League Baseball has stated a commitment to provide sustainable opportunities for the Jackson Generals to maintain professional baseball,” Generals general manager Marcus Sabata said in a statement. “We will wait, respectfully, for more clarity and for the process to play out while continuing to advocate for, and invest in, the city of Jackson and the state of Tennessee.”

MLB ended the Professional Baseball Agreement that governed the relationship between the majors and minors. The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, which had governed the minors since 1901, is closing down, and the minors will be run from MLB's office in New York under the supervision of Peter Woodfork, MLB's new senior vice president of minor league operations and development.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Jackson-loses-team-as-affiliated-minors-shrink-to-15789888.php