Major changes to Minor League Baseball for next season include the elimination of more than 40 total affiliates and limiting the number of total affiliates each team can have. For the Cubs, that means dropping one of their minor league clubs — most likely the Eugene Emeralds, who will move to full-season ball — and potentially shifting around the levels of others.
One of those everyone expected to remain in the organization was the Iowa Cubs, who’ve been the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate since 1981 and have a solid mutual fanbase in Des Moines. That expectation was solidified Monday by Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register, who tweeted that officials from both the Iowa and Chicago Cubs believe the relationship will continue as is.