Blue Jays End Minor League Affiliation With Syracuse, Take Up With Las Vegas
Posted September 22, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Blue Jays signed a two-year agreement Monday with triple-A affiliate Las Vegas 51’s.
“We’re excited to partner with such a strong organization in Las Vegas, Nevada,” Blue Jays player development director Dick Scott said in a statement.
“Their facilities and staff, along with our improving minor league talent, should make this a very successful venture for both sides.”
The deal comes after Toronto parted ways with former triple-A affiliate Syracuse Chiefs. The Chiefs had been the Blue Jays minor-league team for 31 years.
Earlier in the day, the Washington Nationals signed a two-year deal with the Chiefs.
The Chiefs’ board of directors voted Saturday to sign with the Nationals over the Florida Marlins. Officials announced the deal at a news conference at Alliance Bank Stadium, where the Chiefs play their home games.
“Chiefs fans will soon discover that we are deep into a process during which we have reinvigorated both our scouting department and player development system,” Nationals President Stan Kasten said in a statement. “The results thus far have been beyond our expectations.”
Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said the team’s relationship with Syracuse to be more positive than the Chiefs had with Toronto at the end.
“Our farm system is such that our prospects are going to start reaching the Triple-A level this year, and we think within the next couple of years that we’ll be able to put a championship-calibre team on this field,” Bowden said.
The Chiefs had been set to court the New York Mets, but the Mets instead decided on Buffalo, a larger, more successful market. They signed a two-year player development contract with the Bisons on Monday,
The Nationals had been in Columbus, Ohio, but the Cleveland Indians moved their Triple-A team from Buffalo to Columbus. Washington’s other choices were New Orleans or Las Vegas.
