For the past two years, the Washington Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate could be found in Fresno, California — a whopping 2,793 miles from the nation’s capital. That’s not exactly a logistical boon for an organization, considering you might need to get a player to the big league club fast in the case of an emergency.
Before then, the Syracuse Chiefs served as the final stop before the big leagues for Nationals’ hopefuls, but the Chiefs now represent the New York Mets.
In short, Washington needed a team that was going to be much more accessible than what they’ve had in Fresno the last two seasons (although this wasn’t really a problem in 2020).