Round Rock, Texas Rangers officially announce split

The Round Rock Express and the Texas Rangers made it official today, formally announcing that the Express intend to pursue another major league team for an affiliation in 2019. The Express, who are owned in part by the Ryan family, have been expected to become a Houston Astros affiliate when the agreement with the Rangers expired at the end of this season since Nolan Ryan left the Rangers and joined the Astros.

The Oakland A’s announced today they were affiliating with the Las Vegas AAA team, and once the Astros officially announce they are joining up with Round Rock, that will leave three AAA teams — San Antonio, Nashville and Fresno — unaffiliated, with the Rangers, the Brewers and the…