Thursday, November 19, 2020 - Earlier this week, we shared that Major League Baseball is in the final stages of making changes to various Minor League affiliations; one team that is now getting a new Triple A affiliate is the Washington Nationals.

Announced this morning via Tweet and in an article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Rochester Red Wings will become the Washington Nationals Triple-A team. With the Triple-A team moving to Rochester, New York, this will eliminate a major headache the team had to deal with having their Triple-A team across the country.

With Rochester's ballpark over 2,000 miles closer to Nats park than Fresno's was, Washington should be able to call-up and send down players with relative ease.

Justin Murphy and Sean Lahman from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported that New York's Senior Senator Chuck Schumer announced the affiliation Thursday morning, saying he had spoken directly with Nationals owner Mark Lerner. "For Spikes, Mittsy, Milo, and all members of the Red Wing's world-class organization, especially Naomi Silver and Dan Mason, I'm excited we can add the next great chapter of Red Wings baseball to our' things to be thankful for' list this Thanksgiving," he said.

In a press release issued by the Rochester Red Wings, President/CEO/COO Naomi Silver stated that "We are thrilled to announce our new affiliation with the Washington Nationals. With having had only three previous Major League affiliates, this represents an historic change for the Red Wings. I think our fans will enjoy the geographic closeness of the two cities, making it easy to follow their favorite players to the Big Leagues, and it’s exciting to have this new relationship with the team from the Nation’s Capital. Even more so, this is a fine organization with great ownership and baseball operations people, and we are looking forward to working with them as we move on to the next chapter in Red Wings history. We want to thank Senator Chuck Schumer for his advocacy of the Red Wings in helping to secure this affiliation by speaking directly with the Commissioner of Baseball and the Nationals’ managing principal owner, Mark Lerner. His support has been very important to us."

“We are very excited to partner with the Rochester Red Wings and to have our Triple-A affiliate back in the region,” said Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo. “The Red Wings are a well-built, well-run organization that will be an asset to our player development system and we are proud to be a part of Rochester, New York’s rich baseball tradition that dates back to the late 1800’s.”

About the Rochester Red Wings

The Rochester Red Wings have been affiliated with the Minnesota Twins since 2003. Earlier this month, the Twins called off the relationship earlier this month and are expected to pair with the St. Paul Saints, an independent league team.

The Red Wings play at Frontier Field, which opened for baseball on April 11, 1997. Since its opening, Frontier Field has hosted two Governors' Cup Championship Series in 1997 and 2006. The Red Wings defeated the Columbus Clippers (Yankees) 3 games to 2 in the 1997 series, clinching at home for their 10th International League Governors' Cup title. The Wings then lost to the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) 3 games to 2 in the 2006 series.

Frontier Field hosted the 2000 Triple-A All-Star Game, an 8-2 win by the Pacific Coast League All-Stars over the IL All-Stars on July 12 before 12,810 fans and a nation-wide television audience on ESPN2. The Red Wings had three representatives at the hometown game: Javier De La Hoya, Karim Garcia, and Josh Towers.

Recently, Frontier Field served as the home ballpark for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, while PNC Field in Moosic, Pennsylvania, underwent a season-long renovation. The Yankees played 38 regular-season home games at Frontier, as well as two post-season contests. The Yankees were initially scheduled to play 37 home games at Frontier Field. Still, they added a game on May 6 when it was decided that New York Yankees' left-handed pitcher Andy Pettitte would be making a rehabilitation start. The game switched locations from Dwyer Stadium in nearby Batavia to Frontier Field in downtown Rochester. The game established a Frontier Field record for a regular-season baseball game with 13,584 in attendance.