Washington Nationals express interest in Nashville Sounds affiliation

As the Washington Nationals affiliation with the Syracuse Chiefs comes to an end, they have expressed interest in having the Nashville Sounds replace them.

Away from the major league team, the Washington Nationals need to find a new Triple-A affiliate. One team that makes a lot of sense is the Nashville Sounds, and the Nats have reported interest in a partnership.

They need a new affiliate after the Syracuse Chiefs were purchased by the New York Mets, and will be their new Triple-A team. The Mets will vacate Las Vegas, given obvious logistical issues, and move to the New York state team.

That leaves only leaves a few options, with Nashville obviously geographically preferred compared to west coast teams. And according to ESPN 102.5 The Game’s interview with Nashville mayor David Briley, talks have already begun.

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As Briley says, the Oakland Athletics were reportedly leaving Tennessee to pursue other west coast options, and have an affiliate closer to their big league team. That played out on Monday afternoon as the Las Vegas 51s announced they agreed a two-year affiliation with the A’s. Ironically, they are moving there just as the Oakland Raiders take up residence in Sin City.

Essentially, it now leaves the Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers to choose between Nashville and the Fresno Grizzlies. It now looks like the Nats will be favorites to land in the Music City, which will likely be a popular choice among fans.

While it may not be a simple drive to get from Nashville to D.C. for the likes of Andrew Stevenson to be a late-game hero, there are several flights between the two to get late call-ups to a game. Therefore, it makes a lot of logical sense compared to Fresno, which is out in California.

They also have a good record of helping develop players for their parent club. You only need to look at how many of the A’s players performing have come through the Sounds, learning to play the right way. The latest of these, Ramón Laureano, has been impressing despite never quite being a highly-regarded prospect.

Now that the Triple-A playoffs are over, teams can officially announce new affiliations once agreed upon, as we saw the Athletics and 51s do on Monday. If the Nationals do indeed pick up the Sounds, then we can probably expect an announcement to confirm the agreement in the coming days.

After the weird situation of having their Triple-A club being owned by another major league club, the Washington Nationals will look forward to a fresh partnership in 2019 and beyond. If everything aligns as expected this should be with the Nashville Sounds.