Mets are buying the Chiefs

[dcpatti]

Or try and oust the O's from Norfolk.

The Tides are owned by the same group that owns the Baysox and either the Keys or the IronBirds (I forget which). So this would be a difficult affiliate to displace, although with the number of Virginia ties the Nats have, and the Navy Yard-Norfolk connection, it would actually be a really logical pairing.

[UMDNats]

I doubt we could attract minor league free agents who are AAAA types if we told them "you're going to play in AA actually because of travel issues." This is not ideal.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I'm losing track of the musical chairs.  With the Rangers going to Nashville, who took Round Rock?

houston

[LincolnDD]

I also doubt the Nats stash all their best players at AA. The dodgers team is in Oklahoma City and all their top prospects played in OKC.

The Dodgers' AA team is also in Oklahoma (Tulsa, so farther from LA than OKC), so not quite the same.

[DPMOmaha]

Chelsea Janes@chelsea_janes
4 mins ago
Rizzo said Nats’ first choice was Nashville, but they made a deal with the Rangers instead. Fresno was their second choice.

On whether more difficult transport logistics is as big a problem as it seems: “It’s real.”

Byron Kerr@masnKerr
4 mins ago
Mike Rizzo says Fresno was their second choice behind Nashville. Travel is an issue. But Fresno wanted the #Nats and he’s  looking forward to building good relationship

[GburgNatsFan]

I actually remember this joke from the made-for-TV movie it came from... early 80s? Earlier? Dunno.

Basically, this is becoming "who the heck wants to be in Fresno?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno_(miniseries)

It is the raisin capital of the world. It earned the name because the founding Conquistadors found the grapes there so revolting they tasted like "Fresno."

[DPMOmaha]

The Dodgers' AA team is also in Oklahoma (Tulsa, so farther from LA than OKC), so not quite the same.

How did the Mets use Vegas?

I don't think Fresno will be a barren wasteland of Nats prospects.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I would imagine there will be some quick call-up guys like Gott stashed in AA, but it may be the guys who need an extended stay for developmnent, like a month or two, would go to Fresno.  C Kieboom, maybe Raudy Read, I'm not sure of others. 

[PowerBoater69]

Chelsea Janes@chelsea_janes
4 mins ago
Rizzo said Nats’ first choice was Nashville, but they made a deal with the Rangers instead. Fresno was their second choice.

On whether more difficult transport logistics is as big a problem as it seems: “It’s real.”

Byron Kerr@masnKerr
4 mins ago
Mike Rizzo says Fresno was their second choice behind Nashville. Travel is an issue. But Fresno wanted the #Nats and he’s  looking forward to building good relationship

If Fresno was the second choice was there a worse option?

[LincolnDD]

One option I've seen in chatter is the Nats buying Fresno and moving them, possibly to Colorado Springs or Charlotte.

Fresno was just sold earlier this year.  The new owners signed a lease through 2036 and also signed a “non-relocation agreement” that would require them to pay off the remaining debt on the stadium (close to $40m) if they do move the team.  So that chatter was probably speculation and/or wishful thinking.

The newish owners of the Fresno team do have ties to the Rockies, so that's something to keep an eye on in two years (the Rockies are in the middle of a four-year contract with Albuquerque, so currently stand to be in the affiliation shuffle in 2020). 

[nickp91]

Nationals try and get a stadium deal in Richmond and find a way to move Richmond up a level to AAA when the deal with giants runs out

[mitlen]

Fresno  ?   

[HalfSmokes]

How did the Mets use Vegas?

I don't think Fresno will be a barren wasteland of Nats prospects.

Vegas has frequent direct flights to every major city

[DPMOmaha]

Vegas has frequent direct flights to every major city

That doesn't answer my question.

[HalfSmokes]

That doesn't answer my question.

It makes the situations not analogous

[catocony]

The myth that teams keep their best prospects at AA continues. 

How many guy did the Nats call up from Harrisburg this year vs. Syracuse?  Last year?  The year before?  How percentage of guys on the other 29 teams were called up from AA compared to the number called up from their AAA team?

[mitlen]

Why not make Harrisburg the AAA spot and Fresno AA?   

[LincolnDD]

How did the Mets use Vegas?

I don't think Fresno will be a barren wasteland of Nats prospects.

I think you're right; top prospects will spend time there.  Maybe you'll see some depth pieces that are usually kept at AAA end up in AA, but probably not too significant.

The Mets use of Vegas was fairly traditional -- stocked with vets and minor league free agents.  They didn't skip sending most prospects there (Syndergaard, deGrom, Wheeler, Matz all spent time in Vegas).  There were some travel issues getting folks there, and there was a lot of wear and tear on some of the players (especially the guys sent back and forth), but nothing too unusual.

[UMDNats]

Why not make Harrisburg the AAA spot and Fresno AA?   

this is not allowed unless you mean roster the players in a certain way

[dcpatti]

If Fresno was the second choice was there a worse option?

San Antonio

[catocony]

Nationals try and get a stadium deal in Richmond and find a way to move Richmond up a level to AAA when the deal with giants runs out

There is a AA Eastern League team in Richmond.  To move in a AAA team, you first need to buy a current team, then relocate the existing AA team to a city geographically in one of the three AA leagues, then go through the painful process of moving the AAA team. 

Most of the AAA teams in the IL are pretty settled. 

[DPMOmaha]

It makes the situations not analogous

It's about as close as we're gonna get.

[dcpatti]

Nationals try and get a stadium deal in Richmond and find a way to move Richmond up a level to AAA when the deal with giants runs out

That’s not just two different levels, it would involve multiple leagues. The Grizzlies are in the Pacific Coast League and the theoretical new AAA Richmond team would geographically need to go into the International league. Likewise, the current Squirrels are in the Eastern league and a demoted Fresno might have to go into the Texas League (there aren’t any AA teams out that way at all).  So it’s not as simple as “just swap them.”

[HalfSmokes]

It's about as close as we're gonna get.

Vegas to anywhere travel times are going to be comparable to closer small city just because of the frequency of flights

[DPMOmaha]

Vegas to anywhere travel times are going to be comparable to closer small city just because of the frequency of flights

4.5 hour flight from Vegas to DC. 6.5 from Fresno to DC with a stop. Most teams want their top affiliates closer to the parent club. That's fairly evident. NYC and Vegas is the best example I can find of a team having their AAA team at least 3 time zones away and predictably they wanted out of that.