FORT WAYNE, Ind. — For the first time in club history, the Fort Wayne TinCaps are able to offer a company the chance to place its logo on the team’s jerseys. Under new rules taking effect with the 2027 season, Minor League Baseball clubs may now sell jersey patch partnerships.
The TinCaps will offer a single, exclusive jersey patch partnership. The partner’s logo will be worn on the team’s standard home, road and alternate uniforms, giving one company a place on the field, in the dugout, and in the photos, highlights and memories of every fan who follows the team.
As the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, the TinCaps play a 132-game season, including 66 home games at Parkview Field, which has welcomed an average of 5,605 fans for TinCaps games in the 16 (non-COVID) years since the ballpark opened. That attendance is higher than 57 of the other 59 class A teams, over half of AA teams and more than a third of AAA teams.
The patch’s reach extends well beyond the ballpark: TinCaps games are carried on MyNetworkTV, Bally Sport Live, MiLB.TV and the team’s social media channels reach more than 205,000 followers and generated 24 million impressions in 2026.
The patch will also travel with the next generation of big leaguers. Every season, TinCaps players move up to the Padres and other Major League clubs; 238 TinCaps alumni have reached the Major Leagues, including All-Stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Trea Turner, Max Fried, and Jackson Merrill. Photos and video of those players in a TinCaps uniform live on long after they’ve moved up, and the partner’s brand goes with them.
Off the field, TinCaps players wear their jerseys at select community appearances, such as visits with young patients at Parkview Children’s Hospital, carrying the partner’s brand into some of the most meaningful moments the team shares with the region.
The partnership is designed to be much more than logo placement. Depending on the partner’s goals, it may include:
- Designation as the Official Jersey Partner of the Fort Wayne TinCaps
- A public unveiling of the patch and partnership
- In-ballpark signage and hospitality at Parkview Field
- Auctions of game-worn, patched jerseys benefiting local charities
- Featured social media and broadcast content
- Community programming developed jointly with the TinCaps
“A jersey patch is truly one-of-one,” said Jenn Sylvester, General Manager of the Fort Wayne TinCaps. “Only one company will ever be the first to put its name on a TinCaps jersey, and that partner becomes part of the team: part of every big win, every home run and every walk-off celebration. We’re going to be thoughtful about finding the right partner, a company that shares our commitment to Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana and wants to build a meaningful, long-term connection with our fans and our community.”
“Fort Wayne is one of the strongest markets and the TinCaps one of the most popular brands in Minor League Baseball,” said TinCaps President Mike Nutter. “The TinCaps have become synonymous with Fort Wayne’s resurgence. This partnership gives a company the chance to put its name on that success, something no business in this market has ever been able to do.”
Companies interested in learning more about the TinCaps’ jersey patch partnership should contact Jenn Sylvester, General Manager, at sylvester@tincaps.com or (260) 407-2801, or David Lorenz, Vice President of Partnerships, at lorenz@tincaps.com or (260) 407-2815-. Additional information is available at www.tincaps.com.