MADISON – The Rocket City Trash Pandas have received a Professional Development License offer as the Double-A Minor League Baseball affiliate for the Los Angeles Angels in Major League Baseball’s new player development structure.

“When we started talks to purchase the Mobile BayBears and move them to Rocket City, one of the most attractive aspects of the deal was their affiliation with the Angels, an organization I have admired as long as I’ve been in baseball,” said Trash Pandas President & CEO Ralph Nelson. “We were excited to extend that relationship for four years following the 2018 season and equally thrilled to know it will now last even longer.”

The Professional Development License from the Angels is offered as a 10-year contract, which will run through 2030. This will position the Trash Pandas as one of the 120 affiliated teams in the restructured Minor League Baseball organization. Each Major League Baseball team will now have four affiliates – Triple-A, Double-A, High A, and Low A – and MiLB operations will be handled out of the MLB headquarters in New York.

The Trash Pandas are set to play their inaugural season at the new, state-of-the-art Toyota Field in 2021.

“The Angels have one of the elite player development systems in our game and the Trash Pandas are proud to be members of the family,” said Nelson.