The Pittsburgh Pirates have extending offers to their four Minor League affiliates to stay on with the organization in 2021.
Those invitations include the Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians, Double-A Altoona Curve, Bradenton Marauder, who would change from High-A to Low-A and the Greensboro Grasshoppers from Low-A to High-A.
“We are excited and proud to present the opportunity to continue our long-standing partnerships with the Indianapolis Indians, Altoona Curve, and, of course, the City of Bradenton with the Marauders. We are equally excited to have the chance to continue to build upon our relationship with our newest affiliate the Greensboro Grasshoppers,” said Pirates President Travis Williams. “The player development system is always going to be critical to our future success at the Major League level. It is more important than ever that we partner with affiliate organizations that share in this commitment to our players and facilities.”
It would be the 17th straight season with Indianapolis, 23rd for Altoona, 12th for Bradenton and 3rd with Greensboro.
The Bucs will also continue to have entries in the Gulf Coast League and Dominican Summer League. Those teams will be announced by MLB at a later date.
The Pirates’ affiliations with Morganton, WV and Bristol, VA are becoming part of Major League Baseball’s modernization of player development
The Black Bears in West Virginia will be a part of the new draft league, focusing on top prospects that will be eligible to be drafted next summer and the Pirates in Bristol will be a part of the new Appalachian League a collegiate summer league within the MLB and USA Baseball Prospect Development Pipeline.
