Will it be one-and-done with the San Francisco Giants?
The Richmond franchise is contractually bound to be the Giants' Class AA affiliate next season. After that, Richmond could hook up with another major-league organization, if both sides want the arrangement.
Chuck Domino, Richmond's chief executive manager, said Wednesday that it's "too early to tell" if Richmond and the Giants will seek an extension of their Player Development Contract.
"They want one. They made it perfectly clear," Domino said of the Giants.
According to Bobby Evans, San Francisco's vice president of baseball operations, the Giants believe their Class AA team is best served by being in the Eastern League long term.
"We're a long ways away from Richmond, but we chose the Eastern League a number of years ago because we felt like there's no better baseball at the Double-A level than the Eastern League," Evans said. "We had been in the Texas League. We evaluated the Southern League. But we felt like the Eastern League just was the best fit for what the San Francisco Giants were trying to do with player development."
The Giants would like to stay in Richmond because of the organization's familiarity with and respect for Richmond's ownership and management team, Evans added. The Giants and the franchise now in Richmond have been together since 2003.
"There are a lot of positive things that I think would make the Giants very interested in being [in Richmond] for the long term," Evans said. "We're not one to jump affiliates. We try to establish long-term relationships." -- John O'Connor
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