Angels extend invitations to four Minor League affiliates

ANAHEIM – The Angels today announced that the Salt Lake Bees (Triple-A), Rocket City Trash Pandas (Double-A), Tri-City Dust Devils (High-A) and Inland Empire 66ers (Low-A) have been invited to join the Club’s player development pipeline.

Salt Lake has been the Angels Triple-A affiliate since 2001, while the Rocket City franchise has been the Double-A affiliate since 2017 (Club played as the Mobile BayBears from 2017-2019 before moving to Madison, Ala.). Inland Empire will shift designations to Low-A after serving as the Angels Class-A Advanced affiliate since 2011.

At the High-A level, the Angels have invited the Tri-City Dust Devils (most recently a Northwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres). The Angels previously had a Tri-City affiliate during the 1963-64 seasons at the Low-A level. The Dust Devils principal owner is Hall of Famer George Brett and the Club plays its home games at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Wash.

“We are proud to continue our relationship with Salt Lake, Rocket City and Inland Empire and are excited to welcome the Tri-City franchise to the Angels family,” said Angels General Manager Perry Minasian. “I would like to thank the ownership groups and staffs of each of these great franchises for their help in establishing these long-term partnerships. We would also like to express our gratitude to the residents of Salt Lake City, Madison, Pasco and San Bernardino for welcoming Angels Baseball into your communities.”

In 2021, the Angels will again field Rookie teams in the Arizona Summer League (playing at the Tempe minor league complex since 2006) and the Dominican Summer League (in Boca Chica).

ANGELS MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATE INVITATION QUOTE SHEET:

MARC AMICONE, President/General Manager, Salt Lake Bees:

“The Salt Lake Bees are excited to be invited by the Los Angeles Angels to continue as their Triple-A affiliate. For the past 20 years, the Angels have been our partners in fielding competitive teams with great players and coaches while enhancing our community with fun, family experiences at the ballpark. It’s an honor to be considered one of the best places to play Minor League Baseball at its highest level, with a beautiful stadium, great team operations and outstanding support from our fans. We are hopeful to have a finalized agreement with Major League Baseball soon so we can continue to bring professional baseball to Smith’s Ballpark and Salt Lake City in 2021.”

RALPH NELSON, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rocket City Trash Pandas:

“When we started talks to purchase the Mobile BayBears and move them to Rocket City, one of the most attractive aspects of the deal was their affiliation with the Angels, an organization I have admired as long as I’ve been in baseball. We were excited to extend that relationship after the 2018 season and equally thrilled to know it will now last even longer. The Angels have one of the elite player development systems in our game and the Trash Pandas are proud to be members of the family.”

DERREL EBERT, Vice President/General Manager, Tri-City Dust Devils:

“We are thrilled to receive the invitation to join the Angels family as their High-A affiliate. The Dust Devils and the Tri-City community are excited to welcome the Los Angeles Angels staff and players that will come through Gesa Stadium and look forward to building a long lasting partnership.”

JOE HUDSON, General Manager, Inland Empire 66ers:

“Over the last ten season the 66ers Organization have been a proud partner of the Los Angeles Angels. We are excited to continue this partnership and to provide professional baseball to the Inland Empire community in 2021 and beyond.”