As part of Major League Baseball’s restructuring of the Minor Leagues, the Los Angeles Dodgers are no longer affiliated with the Rookie-level Ogden Raptors.
MLB and the Pioneer League jointly announced that the Pioneer League has been designated a “Partner League” and will no longer be affiliated with specific MLB teams. Starting in 2021, the Pioneer League will transition to an independent professional MLB Partner League that continues to provide baseball to the states of Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado.
MLB will cover the initial operating expenses for these organizations as well as the installation of scouting technology so MLB organizations can remain involved.
As a whole, MLB is reportedly cutting over 60 Minor League affiliates beginning in 2021 as a way to save money amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Ogden Raptors served as the Rookie-level affiliate of the Dodgers for the past 18 years. The changed happened in 2003 when they moved from Great Falls, Montana, to Ogden, which was a return from when the organization was there in the 1960s and 1970s.
Over the last 18 years, Ogden won the South Division of the Pioneer League nine times, including in each of the last four seasons. They went on to win the Pioneer League Championship in 2017 with many of the organization’s current stars playing there at some point after being drafted or signed.
Dodgers potentially returning to Spokane
As a part of some wholesale Minor League changes coming in 2021, reports indicate that the Dodgers organization will be returning to Spokane for one of their affiliates.
While details still need to be finalized, it seems that Triple-A Oklahoma City, Double-A Tulsa and High-A Rancho Cucamonga — which may be moving to a lower Minor League level — will be the only returning Dodgers affiliates in 2021.
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