Familiarity and location have their benefits, at least to the Arkansas Travelers and Seattle Mariners.
One of the more stable Class AA franchises with respect to its major league affiliations over the past half-century, the Travs signed a two-year player development contract with the Mariners on Tuesday morning, just their second change since the mid-1960s.
The new deal keeps the Travs' connected to the American League West, but it breaks a 16-year relationship with the Los Angeles Angels, the second-longest tenure in the franchise's history, which has included a team in all but seven seasons since 1901.
The Travs spent 35 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals before signing with the Angels in 2000, a move that was made in part because of a rift with the Cardinals over the condition of Ray Winder Field.
Travs President Russ Meeks was reserved when revealing details of discussions among the Travs, Angels and Mariners, citing major league and minor league rules that require the talks to be kept private. But he said the Travs and Angels decided by Sept. 11 that the agreement wouldn't be renewed.
A desire to reconnect with Mariners' personnel once familiar to the Travs and the Mariners' desire to get back into the Texas League were the biggest reasons for this switch, representatives from the Mariners and Travelers said.
Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto was the Angels' general manager in 2011-2015; Manager Scott Servais was an assistant general manager for the Angels; bench coach Tim Bogar was a Travs manager in 2013; and minor league instructor Mike Micucci managed the Travs in 2012.
The change ends a relationship with the Angels, which included the Travs' final days at Ray Winder Field, the move across the Arkansas River to Dickey-Stephens Park in 2007, one summer with superstar outfielder Mike Trout and Texas League championships in 2001 and 2008.
"Frankly, it was a wonderful period of time," Meeks said. "We had 16 great years with the Angels and have developed some great relationships. Our fans have become Angels fans. But the way we operate, our fans are Travelers' fans, and they're still going to be Travelers' fans, and we're going to have Travelers' fans and Travelers' players."
Andy McKay, Mariners' director of player development, said the distance between Seattle and North Little Rock is a detriment, but he cited the ease with which to get to the park and being back in the Texas League -- where it will compete with other AL West affiliates -- made the move a "no-brainer."
"When you think about moving players and coming in, it's an easy place to get to," McKay said. "And that's not true for all minor league places. A lot of places you have to connect a couple of times, and you're driving a few hours. So, having a serviceable airport was important."
Dipoto resigned as Angels' general manager amid a rift with Manager Mike Scioscia last season, but he was hired to lead the Mariners less than three months later.
"It is a franchise with great fans, a great staff and a great ballpark," Dipoto told the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune. "Both organizations are committed to the community, good baseball and an entertaining ballpark experience."
The Angels will send their Class AA team further from their home stadium. They announced later Tuesday a two-year contract with the Mobile (Ala.) Bay Bears of the Southern League. Player development contracts are signed on two- or four-year agreements between major and minor league teams. Affiliation switches happen regularly -- three teams will change at Class AA this year -- but the Travs' and Angels' relationship was the second longest in the Texas League.
Mike LaCassa, the Angels' director of minor league operations, told the Democrat-Gazette in an email that "we had a great run in Arkansas and made some life-long friendships. Now it's a new era for us all."
Meeks said Angels General Manager Billy Eppler, hired in October to replace Dipoto, never visited Dickey-Stephens Park during his one season with the Angels, but he indicated that didn't factor into the split. Meeks spoke highly of Angels employees who passed through the park, including LaCassa.
Meeks touted the winning percentage of the Mariners' minor league teams and a possibility for the Mariners to send players on rehabilitation assignments to North Little Rock. The Angels regularly sent their rehab players to Class AAA Salt Lake or to Class A Inland Empire, both of which are closer to the Angels' home stadium and their spring training facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. McKay said the Mariners sent players to all but one affiliate on rehab assignments.
The Angels last sent a player on a rehab assignment to the Travs in 2014, when pitcher C.J. Wilson made one start at Dickey-Stephens and reliever Sean Burnett made six appearances.
"[Dipoto] was the reason that we were able to have C.J. Wilson here," Meeks said. "He wanted to do that, and he did that."
All seven of the Mariners' affiliates reached the playoffs this season, including the Class AA Jackson Generals, which won the Southern League.
"I think the core philosophy is that we're trying to develop winning baseball players, and to do that we're trying to win in the minor leagues," McKay said. "We think it's important, we think it creates our culture, and we think it prepares people to win in the major leagues."
The Angels' minor league system was not highly thought of by those in the industry. Baseball America ranked it last among the 30 systems before the season began, and it didn't rank one of the Angels' prospects among the top 100 before the season or in a midseason ranking released in July.
The Mariners' system is a slight upgrade. It ranked 28th in Baseball America's preseason rankings, and MLBpipeline.com includes two Mariners' prospects among the top 100 in the game. Outfielder Kyle Lewis, a first round draft pick this year, is ranked 29th and outfielder Tyler O'Neil is ranked 62nd. Neither Lewis nor O'Neil have reached Class AA.
The decision to join the Mariners was unanimous by the Travelers' executive committee, Meeks said.
"The Travelers make that decision for the Travelers, and the Angels make it for the Angels, and the Mariners make it for the Mariners," Meeks said. "We don't make a decision for anybody else. We just make it for us, and the Traveler organization, its front office and its executive committee."
Stars to remember
The 16-year relationship between the Los Angeles Angels and Arkansas Travelers saw plenty of prospects pass through on their way to the major leagues, especially in the early years:
ALEX YARBROUGH, 2B/1B
2014, 2016
Yarbrough has yet to reach the majors, but in 2014 he became the only Traveler during the Angels era to be named Texas League Player of the Year. After the 2015 season in Salt Lake, Yarbrough returned to the Travs this year, where he hit .267.
MIKE TROUT, OF
2011
Considered by many to be baseball’s current best overall player, Trout played 91 games for the Travs in 2011. He hit .326 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI and stole 33 bases.
MARK TRUMBO, 1B
2008-2009
Hit 21 home runs over two seasons with the Travs. He got to Los Angeles one year later and hit 95 home runs over three full seasons. Now with the Baltimore Orioles, Trumbo has a big-league best 43 home runs.
HOWIE KENDRICK, 2B
2005
A part of the accomplished 2005 team that also included future big leagues Alberto Callaspo, Mike Napoli, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver. Kendrick hit .342 that year, and is now an 11-year veteran playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
JERED WEAVER, RHP
2005
The longest-tenured Angel who used to be with the Travs, Weaver was 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 2005. He has been a staple in the Angels rotation since 2007, and he has made three All-Star teams.
MIKE NAPOLI, C/1B
2005
Clubbed 31 home runs and drove in 99 runs in his lone season with the Travs. He’s a power hitter in the big leagues, slugging 238 home runs, including 34 this year with the Cleveland Indians.
ERVIN SANTANA, RHP
2003-2005
Santana was first called up to the Los Angeles Angels while a Traveler. In fact, he was taken off the mound during an outing to be promoted. He spent parts of three years in Little Rock, which included a 2.77 ERA in his final year in 2005. Currently with the Minnesota Twins, Santana has pitched for four different teams.
FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, RHP 2002
Rodriguez made 23 appearances for the Travs in 2002, notching nine saves before being promoted to Class AAA Salt Lake. Three years later he was an American League All-Star. Currently with the Detroit Tigers, Rodriguez has 429 career saves.
Sports on 09/21/2016