Major League Baseball is coming close to finalizing a plan that would completely revamp the structure of Minor League Baseball as we have known it.
It’s detailed in this Baseball America article, and here’s the gist of how it would work. Previously, minor-league organizations would sign two- or four-year affiliation agreements with MLB teams. Now, there will be 120 teams across four levels, and:
MLB will be presenting a contract—the Professional Development License—to individual owners. If an owner opts to not sign the PDL, MLB would likely move on to a team left out of the 120 to fill the open slot.