Reds and Pirates pull switcheroo with class-A affiliates

November 8, 8:57 PMLouisville Bats ExaminerJason Stella

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Hillcats' ferocious logo
official Hillcats' site

Constantly sitting near the bottom of the National League central isn't the only thing the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates work together at, as the two teams have hammered out a deal to switch their class-A, minor-league affiliates. Cincinnati, which starting next season will no longer conduct their spring training in Sarasota, Florida, are going to sell the single-A team which is based in Sarasota to the Pirates. In return, the Reds will take over operations of the franchise the Pirates currently use as their affiliate at the same level, the Lynchburg Hillcats.

Starting in February 2010, the Reds will move into a brand new spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona, just west of Phoenix. With the Sarasota team now a thing of the past, it makes sense for the Reds to use Lynchburg as one of their farm teams. Lynchburg is located in Virginia close to Appomattox Courthouse, which is where the official Civil War surrender was signed by Robert E. Lee on Palm Sunday, 1865. Conveniently, it is only about a four-hour drive from the Reds' double-A team in Zebulon, North Carolina. This means players who get a call-up won't have to log the frequent flyer miles from Sarasota, as they have done over the past few years.

The Hillcats' franchise is a part of what is known as high-A ball, meaning that it is still the single-A level, but a bit more advanced than other single-A leagues. In the usual progression, it is one step before a player cracks the double-A level. Lynchburg is a part of the eight-team Carolina League, which features teams from the Carolinas and Virginia. City Stadium, which is where the team will play, has been hosting baseball games since 1939, when Joe DiMaggio drove in the first two runs in the stadium's debut in an exhibition game between the Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers.

For the past three years, the Sarasota team has been owned by the Reds, and they shared the Reds' mascot name. All that remains to seal the deal, according to reds.com, is an approval vote from the Florida State League. Cincinnati and the Sarasota club had been partners since the team was purchased from the Red Sox organization in 2006. The Sarasota club will have its operations taken over by the Pirates, who plan on moving the team about 15 miles north to the city of Bradenton, where their spring training complex is located. Both Sarasota and Bradenton are in the Tampa area.

What teams make up the Reds' farm system?