The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are still awaiting word on if they will be one of the 120 teams in minor league baseball in 2021.
The Scrappers' future has been in question for more than a year, since it was revealed that Major League Baseball was planning to take over Minor League Baseball and cut the latter's big-league affiliations to 120.
The move will result in each MLB team having four minor league affiliates. The Indians are expected to keep the Class AAA Columbus Clippers, Double-A Akron RubberDucks, Class A Lake County Captains and Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats as their farm teams.
That would leave the Class A Scrappers, who have been a Tribe affiliate since they launched in 1999, in need of another home.
Scrappers general manager Jordan Taylor said the club expects to get an answer soon from MLB.
"I know negotiations have been progressing in recent weeks," Taylor wrote in an email. "Hopefully, we will know our future later this month or early December."
Asked if he thought the club would no longer be affiliated with the Indians, the Scrappers GM said, "Not sure at this point."
A Tribe source told Crain's that an official decision hasn't been made on the big-league team's minor league affiliates for 2021 and beyond.
It seems clear, though, that the Scrappers, if they remain a minor league affiliate, won't be tied to the Indians.
The Scrappers are part of the 14-team New York-Penn League. In late October, Baseball America reported that MLB is trying to get the New York-Penn League to buy into a similar plan that it recently devised for the Appalachian League.
The Appalachian League agreed to become a summer wood-bat league for promising college freshman and sophomore players. The hope, according to Baseball America, is the New York-Penn League will transition to a wood-bat league for college seniors.
That option would work for some of the smaller New York teams that have already had summer wood-bat teams. But it likely wouldn't be welcomed by the Scrappers, who play at Eastwood Field in Niles and have a strong following in Mahoning County.
During a conversation with Taylor in January, he brought up the Dream League, something MLB had proposed as a substitute for minor league teams that would lose their big-league affiliations.
"That model is really challenging," Taylor said at the time. "One of the unique things about our team here is the connection to the Cleveland Indians. It's really impactful. Every game, you walk around and see young fans coming to their first game. They're making connections to players early in their careers, then can follow them through the system as they make their way to the big leagues."
The Tribe connection likely will be lost.
Earlier this summer, Taylor and Jeff Lantz, Minor League Baseball's senior director of communications, were hopeful that if the Indians cut ties with the Scrappers, Mahoning Valley could line up another big-league affiliation.
"I think there's potential based on their facility and their proximity to other teams," Lantz said. "They could be a long-term answer for some organization."
Hopefully, that will be the case.
And with the 2021 season about five months away, it would be nice if the Scrappers received an answer soon.
We likely won't know for at least a couple years if the Cavs made a smart decision when they drafted former Auburn standout Isaac Okoro at No. 5 overall.
The Cavs, though, are feeling good about other numbers related to the draft on Wednesday night, Nov. 18.
The Cavs' "House Party," a live program that was streamed on the team's website and social media platforms, generated a 106% increase in social media impressions when compared to the 2019 draft. The Cavs also had the fifth pick in 2019, when they selected guard Darius Garland.
The Cavs' 2020 draft production brought a 300% increase in video views when compared to 2019. The team also said its in-house draft show helped the organization collect more than 1,000 leads, via fans who said they are interested in Wine & Gold United memberships.
As for the selection of Okoro, we found this NBA Stats chart interesting.
The shot chart shows how staggeringly efficient the 19-year-old is at the rim. It also displays how much work Okoro needs on his jump shot.
Again, time will tell.
It was good, though, to see the Cavs not take a 6-foot-1 guard for the third straight year.
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November 21, 2020 at 01:07AM
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Mahoning Valley Scrappers hope to receive an answer on their future 'later this month or early December' - Crain's Cleveland Business
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