Fresno Grizzlies Receive ULTIMATUM - Demote to Single A or Lose Affiliated Status
The Fresno Grizzlies have reportedly been given an ultimatum by Major League Baseball after no single team picked them to be their Triple A Affiliate in 2021. The ultimatum is to either accept a demotion to Single A as the Single A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies or lose their affiliated status altogether.
The Fresno Grizzlies have been a Triple A Team since 1998 when they became the Triple A Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Since the Giants changed affiliations to the more local Sacramento in 2015, the Grizzlies have gone through a couple of big league partners - the Houston Astros (2015-2018) and the Washington Nationals (2019).
This is a team that plays in Chukchansi Park, a stadium that holds over 10,000 fans. They have a Triple A Ballpark and Triple A facilities. Nevertheless, due to the insane shakeups happening around Minor League Baseball, including the introduction of two new formerly independent teams - the St. Paul Saints (Possible future Minnesota Twins affiliate) and the Sugarland Skeeters (purchased by the Houston Astros) - wild and unexpected changes are imminent.
The Colorado Rockies have had their Single A Affiliate in the area before when the Central Valley Rockies existed from 1993-1994 in Visalia, California. That team is now known as the Visalia Rawhide and most recently affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks.