On Saturday, the New York Yankees made four moves in their minor league system. The first was eliminating the Staten Island Yankees, a Class-A Short Season in the New York-Penn League, and moving to the High Single-A team Hudson Valley Renegades.
The second was dropping the Charleston RiverDogs of the High Class-A South Atlantic League. The third was the Tampa Tarpons, along with the Florida State League are transitioning to a Lower A-League, and the fourth was adding the Somerset Patriots as a Double-A affiliate replacing the Trenton Thunder.
Major League Baseball’s goal in restricting its minor league system is to turn the New York-Penn League into a Summer Collegiate league for college seniors. The Renegades were also a former member of the New York-Penn League and were affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays for 24 years.
Out of all the Yankees announcements, adding the Somerset Patriots as a Double-A affiliate surprised many baseball fans in New Jersey, replacing the Trenton Thunder after 17 years. The Patriots were a founding member of the Atlantic League in 1998 and have won six Atlantic League titles.
Earlier this year, the Atlantic League became a partner league with Major League Baseball along with the American Association and the Frontier League.
Somerset Patriots Chairman Emeritus Steve Kalafer had this to say about the team becoming an affiliate of the Yankees, “This is a dream come true for everyone in the Somerset Patriots family. The first baseball game my father took me to was at Yankee Stadium and I continued the tradition, taking our sons Jonathan and Josh to their first games there as well. Our love for baseball and the New York Yankees came from those special days and has remained with us throughout our lives. I’ve always looked at the Yankees as the gold standard in baseball and sports as a whole. It is how we’ve modeled the way we’ve conducted our business at the Somerset Patriots since day one. We are forever grateful to Hal Steinbrenner and the entire Steinbrenner family, as well as the management of the New York Yankees. Our ‘call up’ to join one of the most recognizable and prestigious brands in the entire world is a milestone for us.”
Somerset Patriots Co-Chairman Jonathan Kalafer reflected on their time in the Atlantic League, saying, “We are proud of our time in the Atlantic League and bringing professional baseball to our community, as well as other underserved areas of minor league baseball. We helped the league grow to what it is now, the premier independent league in the country that has a groundbreaking partnership with MLB, and a very bright future ahead. We’d like to thank everyone at the Atlantic League for helping us along our journey, especially league founder Frank Boulton, the late Joe Klein, and President Rick White.”
As for the future of the Trenton Thunder, it remains to be seen if they will head to the Atlantic League to replace Somerset or remain in the farm system with another team. Rumors are that the Mets and Red Sox could move one of their minor-league teams there. The Yankees restructuring their minor league system could be a preview of what’s to come in MLB and a new look in Minor League Baseball.
