Mariners Statement on Latin America Player Development

The Seattle Mariners will consolidate their Latin American player development program at their newly-built academy outside of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The academy, located in Boca Chica, was built on 24 acres and was designed to house and serve as a base for up to 80 players.

Beginning with the 2015 season, the Mariners will field two teams in the Dominican Summer League, incorporating all of our Latin American signed players and our Venezuelan players and field staff, and will no longer field a team in the Venezuelan Summer League.

Mariners Executive Vice President and General Manager Jack Zduriencik said, "The Mariners player development program in Latin America will be consolidated in our state-of-the-art facility in the Dominican Republic. Our plan all along has been to centralize our efforts. By bringing our operation under one umbrella, we will be much more efficient and effective in the development of young players, who will all compete on two Mariners teams in the Dominican Summer League. We will continue to be heavily invested in our scouting efforts throughout Latin America and particularly in Venezuela where we have a great tradition and have experienced much success."