Kinston, North Carolina – The Wood Ducks have officially accepted their invitation to become the new Low-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers after signing Major League Baseball’s Professional Development License (PDL) on Tuesday. The 10-year agreement will keep Rangers’ Low-A baseball in Kinston through the 2030 season.

“We are so excited to sign the PDL and formally accept the Texas Rangers invitation to become their new Low-A affiliate,” Wood Ducks VP Wade Howell said. “We can’t wait to welcome back our great fans and supporters for the 2021 season.”

This offseason, Major League Baseball (MLB) restructured the Minor League Baseball (MiLB) system following the expiration of the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) between the two entities last September.

Under the new PDL system, MLB will govern all aspects of MiLB moving forward. Back on December 9, each MLB club invited four minor league affiliates to join their farm systems. MiLB clubs were given a February 10 deadline to accept the terms of the PDL after receiving the governing documents in mid-January. Under the new PDL system, all affiliation agreements between MLB and MiLB clubs will be 10 years in length.

Under the new PDL structure, MiLB will feature 120 teams competing across four levels, Triple-A, Double-A, High-A and Low-A, a change from the previous structure that included 160 clubs competing across six levels. The Rangers farm system is rounded out by the Triple-A Round Rock (TX) Express, Double-A Frisco (TX) RoughRiders, and High-A Hickory (NC) Crawdads.

Additional information regarding the Wood Ducks’ 2021 schedule, league structure, coaching staff, roster and ticketing procedures will be announced in the near future.

For more information, contact Wade Howell at 214-766-3237 or at whowell@woodducksbaseball.com.