The New York Mets will have three New York-based minor league affiliates with their upcoming purchase of the Syracuse Chiefs.
The New York Mets are making changes to their minor-league system as they have reached an agreement to buy the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League.
According to Mark Weiner of Syracuse.com, the Mets will acquire ownership of the Chiefs from the Community Baseball Club of Central New York Inc. and make them their top minor league affiliate starting in 2019. The deal ends almost six decades of community ownership of the Chiefs, dating back to 1961.
The deal also breaks up the Chiefs’ nine-year affiliation with the Washington Nationals, which ends after the 2018 season. The Mets current Triple-A affiliate is in Las Vegas. However, they will leave that deal after the 2018 season in favor of a closer home base.
The Chiefs will be the third minor league team that the Mets will have in New York. The others are the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and the Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones. The deal is expected to be announced on Tuesday at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse.
So out of Vegas and into Syracuse. I hope these future Mets stars are bringing along a few pairs of snow boots.