Breaking: Kane County Cougars not invited by MLB to remain affiliated team; franchise to join ‘partner league’

The Kane County Cougars, the low-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise since 2015, are among a number of minor league baseball franchises that have not been invited to participate in Major League Baseball’s minor league system.

First reported via Baseball America and later posted by Minor League Baseball on Wednesday afternoon, four franchises per each MLB team were invited to join MLB's Minor Leagues in 2021. Kane County, Burlington and Clinton were Midwest League teams that did not receive invitations.

The Cougars, a staple of minor league baseball in Geneva for 30 years, announced in a statement on their Facebook page, that they "will now be under the Major League Baseball umbrella joining one of their new partner leagues where our players will now have an opportunity to progress to any of the 30 MLB teams."

Further details as to what specific MLB partner/development league the club will join "will be coming soon."

In a statement, Cougars Vice President and General Manager Curtis Haug said, "It’s been our pleasure to provide a great atmosphere to develop young players for six different Major League organizations over the past 30 years.

"...We are grateful for the opportunity to positively impact the game of baseball over the past three decades. We look forward to continuing to provide a quality baseball experience for our fans as well as the awesome, family-friendly, affordable entertainment, in a safe and secure environment, that they have become accustomed to over the past 30 years.”

It currently remains unclear as to what criteria was used by MLB to drop the Cougars from its list of affiliates.

"We don't know why and we had no say," Haug said in a text message Wednesday. "MLB is running the show."

Former Cougars manager Vince Harrison was unable to comment for this story.

Following request for comment from MLB, it emailed the Chronicle “as part of this process, MLB is committed to preserving baseball in every community in which it is currently played and is working with minor league teams, local officials and community members to preserve and strengthen baseball across the U.S. and Canada for generations to come.”

Cougars owner, Dr. Bob Froehlich, later added in a statement: “We will also continue to contribute to our local communities both through the charitable efforts of the Kane County Cougars Baseball Foundation and by providing employment opportunities for hundreds of local residents each summer.”

On the Facebook post, the team said it plans to honor 2020 ticket commitments, a move it has remained consistent on since the minor league season was canceled earlier this year due to the pandemic.

The Diamondbacks' roster of minor league teams will be comprised by Reno (AAA), Amarillo (AA), Hillsboro (High-A) and Visalia (Low-A).

The Cougars' first season in Geneva came in 1991, and they have been affiliated with six MLB franchises – the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.

It was reported by Baseball America earlier this fall that MLB planned to reduce the number of minor league affiliated teams from 160 to 120. Under the plan, each MLB franchise would have four affiliated minor league teams for a total of 120, while at least 42 teams would lose their affiliations.