When the Worcester Red Sox begin play as soon as April, they’ll be the only minor league baseball team in Massachusetts affiliated with the Boston Red Sox.
The parent club’s longtime affiliation with the Lowell Spinners was cut on Wednesday, a decision the team and Lowell-area public officials had worked to avoid. The team, which plays in a lower division than the Worcester Red Sox, have for years played up the team’s connection to Boston, with many players that have started at Fenway Park first passing through Lowell.
With the Spinners’ future cloudy, the WooSox could benefit from fans looking to see the next Red Sox prospect or a star player sent down for a rehabilitation assignment. The Boston Red Sox confirmed they’ll keep their affiliation with teams in Worcester, Portland, Maine, Greenville, S.C., and Salem, Va., as expected.
The Boston team said it’s working with Lowell officials to keep baseball in the city, but didn’t offer more details except to say the two sides were in early stages of evaluation opportunities for the 2021 season and would continue to discuss longer-term options.
The WooSox, who’ve played in Pawtucket, R.I., and other minor league teams didn’t play their final 2020 season in Pawtucket because of the coronavirus pandemic. The $132-million Polar Park baseball stadium is slated to open for play as early as April, but the team and its league have not determined yet whether it can begin play of its inaugural Worcester season on time because of the pandemic.
The Spinners aren’t the only New England team to lose their affiliation. The Norwich Sea Unicorns in Connecticut lost their affiliation with the Detroit Tigers. The team issued a statement Wednesday expressing disappointment and saying it was evaluating its options. The Vermont Lake Monsters in Burlington, Vt., also had their ties severed with the Oakland Athletics.
