What was thought of as a crazy idea just a few months ago may now become reality. Baseball America reported on Tuesday that MiLB is agreeing to MLB’s demand to cut the total number of minor league affiliates from 160 to 120 as part of the sides’ negotiations for a new Professional Baseball Agreement. This would affect every major league franchise, including the Houston Astros.
Under this proposed arrangement, each club would have four full-season minor league affiliates plus one rookie level team housed at its Spring Training complex. The idea behind eliminating the extra teams would be to allow for facility improvements to the remaining teams, giving MLB teams more control over choosing their affiliates, and making improvements with respect to travel and the geographical cohesiveness of the various leagues.