Binghamton, Brooklyn Survive As Mets Announce Affiliates — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

And then there were two.

A few days after the Yankees announced their four-team minor league lineup for 2021 and beyond, the Mets became the second team to announce their four-team slate. At a press conference introducing new Mets owner Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations Sandy Alderson said the Mets affiliates will be in Syracuse, Binghamton, Brooklyn and St. Lucie beginning in 2021.

The announcement means eight of the 120 teams that will remain in full-season affiliated baseball have now been made official. While not as shocking as the Yankees’ announcement that Somerset was replacing Trenton at Double-A and Hudson Valley was becoming the Yankees’ high Class A affiliate, the Mets’ moves were notable as well.

Binghamton was originally one of the teams ticketed to lose its affiliation. It was on the cut list in MLB’s initial proposal to Minor League Baseball, but earned a reprieve. Alderson’s announcement indicated Binghamton will remain in the Double-A Eastern League.

“We are so happy to be a partner with the Mets going forward. It’s an incredible journey. It’s an incredible organization. We feel fortunate to be along for the ride with the new owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations Sandy Alderson, a long-time friend,” Binghamton owner John Hughes said. “It feels amazing. It’s amazing to be with the Mets.”

Brooklyn, previously in the short-season New York-Penn League, will move up to the new high Class A Mid-Atlantic League, which will have six teams. The Mets own the Brooklyn franchise.

The announcement means Columbia will no longer be a Mets affiliate. That had long been expected, but Columbia will not be dropped from affiliated baseball. According to numerous sources, Columbia will have a new MLB affiliate under the new minor league structure.

It is unclear whether the team-by-team trickle of affiliation announcements will continue, but the steady drip of news indicates the final list of 120 affiliated teams should be announced soon.