Through a tumultuous yearlong period in which the future state of minor league baseball was in question, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias was firm in his belief that his organization was happy with their affiliate setup even as minor league contraction talks loomed.
Still, there were only four spots for their five teams, and the Frederick Keys were ultimately the team left out of their setup going forward. Instead, Frederick will be joining the new MLB Draft League for draft-eligible college juniors to continue to play and get exposure before the July amateur draft, according to a report from Baseball America.