COLUMBIA, S.C. — It appears the Columbia Fireflies will now become a Kansas City Royals single-A affiliate, replacing their old partnership with the New York Mets that ended last month.
The Royals announced Wednesday they'd sent an invitation to the Fireflies, which is Columbia's Minor League Baseball farm team. The Royals said they'd sent invites to Omaha (AAA), Northwest Arkansas (AA) and Quad Cities (A) as well.
The teams must agree to the player development licenses issued by Major League Baseball, which the Royals expects to happen by early next year.
The changeup happened due to some changes by Minor League Baseball and their affiliates, including preferring to have teams located closer to them geographically. That led the Mets to end their alliance with the Fireflies last month after 12 years, dating back to when the team was still in Savannah. The Mets picked a slate of new teams closer to the New York area.
The Fireflies said they are pleased to get the invitation and are reviewing the terms.
“There has been a lot of anticipation regarding the restructuring of Minor League Baseball,” said Fireflies President John Katz. “We’re excited that the Fireflies have been invited to join. We look forward to the details being worked out and giving fans in Columbia an opportunity to enjoy top-quality professional baseball for years to come.”
While terms of the potential deal weren't announced, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose district includes parts of Columbia, said in a statement fans can expect to see games at Segra Park "for ten more years."
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson and Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and the Columbia City Council were also heavily involved in the effort to make sure the Fireflies were still in Columbia.
. “The quality of Segra Park—named “Ballpark of the Decade” for the 2010s—and the tremendous progress at BullStreet have helped secure the invitation for the Fireflies to continue in affiliated Minor League Baseball for years to come,” said Fireflies’ Managing Owner Jason Freier.
The Fireflies' 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic. They're set to resume in 2021.
The Royals are slated to become the second Major League team to be associated with the Fireflies. The New York Mets had been affiliated with the Minor League Baseball team in Columbia since 1983 as the Columbia Mets (1983-1992), the Capital City Bombers (1993-2004) and the Fireflies (2016-2020), spending more than 25 seasons sending players to the South Carolina’s Capital. The last team not affiliated with the Mets in Columbia were the Columbia Reds, who played in 1960-61.
