After an often contentious and controversial two-year process, Major League Baseball unveiled its slimmed-down and restructured minor league system Friday.
Each of the 30 major league teams now has only four minor league affiliates, one each in Triple A and Double A, and one each in High and Low Single A.
The Worcester Red Sox will play in the Northeast Division of Triple A East, the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs in the Northeast Division of Double A Northeast, the Greenville (S.C.) Drive in the South Division of High A East, and the Salem (Va.) Red Sox in the North Division of Low A East.
After serving for 20 years as the Red Sox’ affiliate in the New York-Penn League (Short A), the Lowell Spinners lost their affiliation in the reshuffling. MLB still intends to incorporate Lowell in a professional development league that has yet to be formalized, something MLB said would occur in the coming weeks and months.
In the meantime, Friday’s news means an actual schedule can’t be far away for the WooSox. That, along with the completion of construction at Polar Park, and hopes that Massachusetts protocols ease enough for ticket sales to be meaningful, are front of mind for the WooSox, who moved from Pawtucket, R.I., for this season.
The new minor league set-up should mean “not too dramatic a deviation for us from an operational standpoint,” said Dan Rea, executive vice president of real estate development and business affairs for the WooSox.
The ball club will likely take advantage of digital marketing opportunities and other resources provided by MLB, said Rea, and deepen newer connections at MLB, whose senior vice president of minor league operations and development, Peter Woodfork, is a former member of the Red Sox front office.
“I think it’s going to come down to relationships,” said Rea. “We have strong relationships with the Red Sox, with [CEO and president] Sam [Kennedy] and Chaim [Bloom, chief baseball officer], David Beeston [executive vice president, chief strategy officer], they’ve been helpful throughout this process.
“I think it will be an affirmation of the strong relationships we’ve built both with the Red Sox and MLB.”
The 120 teams within the mainstream minor league system had to officially agree to accept an invitation from MLB to become “Professional Development League” license-holders.
When announcing its restructuring intent, MLB said it wanted affiliates to be nearer to their major league teams’ home as well as having updated facilities.
In a statement, MLB said many affiliates “will be in significantly closer geographic proximity” to their clubs. On average, MLB said, major league clubs will be “over 200 miles closer to their Triple A affiliates.”
In the statement, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said: “We are excited to unveil this new model, which not only provides a pipeline to the Majors, but continues the Minor Leagues’ tradition of entertaining millions of families in hundreds of communities.
“In modernizing our Minor League system, we prioritized the qualities that make the Minor Leagues such an integral part of our game while strengthening how we develop professional athletes on and off the field. We look forward to demonstrating the best of our game throughout local communities, supporting all those who are working hard to grow the sport, and sharing unrivaled technology and resources with minor league teams and players.”
MLB touted its new licenses as a step toward a number of improvements, including previously announced player salary bumps ranging from 38 to 72 percent this season, modernized facility standards, improved amenities and working conditions, reduced in-season travel, and the improved geographical alignment.
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.