Las Vegas will be Triple-A affiliate of Oakland A’s

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Sept. 17, 2018 | 11:10 a.m.

The Las Vegas 51s, or whatever the Triple-A baseball franchise will be rebranded to when it moves next season to Summerlin, has a new major league affiliation.

The Oakland A’s announced today that they have entered into a two-year player development contract with Las Vegas through the 2020 season. Las Vegas was previously affiliated with the New York Mets for six seasons.

Oakland’s previous Triple-A affiliation was with the Nashville Sounds.

“It is an incredibly exciting time to partner with the Las Vegas 51s,” Billy Beane, Oakland’s executive vice president of baseball operations, said in a statement. “Their ownership group is committed to providing a first-class environment for our players, which includes the grand opening of the Las Vegas Ballpark for the inaugural season of our affiliation. We’re looking forward to working closely with (51s President and Chief Operating Officer) Don Logan and his staff as we both work towards putting a championship club on the field.”

In 1996, the A’s played a regular season series at Cashman Field while the Oakland Coliseum was being renovated.

“The A’s have enjoyed great success at the Triple-A level with their minor league system, which has been second to none,” Logan said in a statement. “The new (agreement) will provide a tremendous environment for the players with the state-of-the-art amenities that will enhance player development with the indoor hitting cages, mounds and workout areas in the Las Vegas Ballpark.”

Las Vegas earlier this month concluded its 36th season of minor league baseball, the first 18 of which were spent as the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. It has also been affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers (eight seasons) and Toronto Blue Jays (four seasons).

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21