ST. LOUIS — The changes in minor-league affiliations for 2021 and beyond were announced by Major League Baseball on Wednesday, but as expected, didn’t affect the Cardinals much. Memphis and Springfield will still be the Triple A and Double A affiliates, while the previously reported switch will make Peoria the high A club and Palm Beach the low A team.
With the elimination of many of the short-season leagues, it already had been reported that the Cardinals were losing their teams in State College, Pa., and Johnson City, Tenn. The only short-season teams will be complex-based clubs, like the Cardinals entry in the Gulf Coast League.
Switching the levels of the Midwest League and Florida State League teams will make it easier for players at the complex leagues to go back and forth to the low A teams, requiring far less travel.
