The Cubs announced Tuesday afternoon the team is moving its Class High-A affiliate from Daytona to Myrtle Beach. The Cubs and the Myrtle Beach franchise agreed on a two-year Player Development Contract that runs through the 2016 season.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans play in the Carolina League and were formally the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The Cubs’ High-A affiliate had resided in Daytona for the last 22 years.
In a release Jason McLeod said the Cubs are excited to partner with the Myrtle Beach franchise and begin working with Chairman Chuck Greenberg and General Manager and Vice President Andy Milovich. “Myrtle Beach is a well-respected franchise that will serve as a beneficial destination for our young players. We look forward to developing a successful relationship with the franchise and community.”
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans also announced the agreement and will hold a press conference at a later date to announce more details of the new partnership. Prior to the Texas Rangers, the Pelicans were the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1999-2010.
Mike Olt, Kyle Hendricks, Justin Grimm and Neil Ramirez played in Myrtle Beach while in the Rangers system as well as 3B Christian Villanueva, who finished the year with Double-A Tennessee.
The Carolina League is broken into two divisions, the Northern and Southern Division. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans was part of the Southern Division last season along with the Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox), Carolina Mudcats (Cleveland Indians) and Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox). The Carolina Northern Division consists of the Potomac Nationals (Washington Nationals), Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta Braves), Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles) and Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals).
Cleveland and Atlanta have not renewed its player development contracts with the affiliates in the Carolina League and the Braves and Indians are among four teams that could move to Daytona.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the new home of the Cubs Class High-A affiliate.