Mets focus on NY with Minors affiliate invites

NEW YORK -- With a new Minor League configuration in place starting in 2021, the Mets will host each of their top three affiliates within New York state, none more than roughly 270 miles from Citi Field.

The Mets on Wednesday announced their 2021 affiliation invitations, which include the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Class A Advanced Brooklyn Cyclones. The Mets’ fourth affiliate, the Class A St. Lucie Mets, is located at their Spring Training complex in Florida.

“We feel having a first-class player development system is crucial to achieving sustained success on the field, and all four of our affiliates are critical to that effort,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement. “We are proud to have worked with such great leadership throughout the state and in each of these communities and are thankful for their continued support.”

In addition to their top four affiliates, the Mets expect to have Rookie-level presences in the Gulf Coast League and the Dominican Summer League, a source said. The organization is no longer affiliated with its former Class A team in Columbia, S.C., nor its old Rookie-level club in Kingsport, Tenn., which it had done business with since 1980.

Instead, the Mets have concentrated Minor League resources in their home state. That includes Syracuse, which became a team-owned affiliate in 2019, as well as Binghamton, which will remain in the Double-A Eastern League. The Mets also promoted Brooklyn to Class A Advanced, while bumping St. Lucie down a level.

“The Mets have yet again demonstrated their deep commitment to baseball in New York,” U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said in a statement, echoing the thanks of other public officials to Alderson and new Mets owner Steve Cohen.

The Mets recently completed a $57 million renovation of Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, and they are in the midst of a $25 million overhaul of NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. Brooklyn, Syracuse and St. Lucie are all team-owned affiliates, while Binghamton is independently owned.