CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Indians are excited to announce the club has invited the Columbus Clippers, Akron RubberDucks, Lake County Captains and Lynchburg Hillcats to become our affiliates in MLB’s new Player Development structure. 

The current structure calls for the Columbus Clippers to remain the Triple-A affiliate while Akron will continue to serve as the Double-A level club. Lake County will now serve as our Advanced Single-A club with Lynchburg assuming lower level Single-A status.

The Office of the Commissioner has been engaged with stakeholders across the game – including all 30 MLB Club Baseball Operations Departments, Minor League owners and government officials – over the past two years to modernize the sport’s Player Development system and maintain baseball in every community in which it is currently played. This new model will better serve fans, players and Clubs throughout the United States and Canada by improving player working conditions and pay, better aligning Major and Minor League Clubs geographically while capitalizing on the marketing potential of the PD system and positioning the sport for growth in the coming years.

Years of Affiliation

Columbus Clippers, 2009-

Akron RubberDucks, 1997-

Lake County Captains, 2003-

Lynchburg Hillcats, 2015-