Kane County Cougars Lose MLB Affiliation, Eye Partner League

GENEVA, IL — The Kane County Cougars’ three-decade run as a Major League Baseball affiliate team came to an end Wednesday, when the league left the team out of its list of affiliates for the upcoming season.

MLB executives released a list of 120 teams that will serve as affiliates, with four teams for each of the MLB’s 30 franchises. More than 40 other minor league teams were dropped from MLB-affiliated baseball alongside the Cougars.

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With plans for next season thrown up in the air, executives said they will try to get the Cougars into one of the MLB’s new “partner leagues,” with an announcement expected to be made soon.

“At this point, we’re not sure where we’re going to end up. There are still a lot of options open,” Cougars executive Curtis Haug told the Aurora Beacon-News.

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Shortly after the MLB named its minor league affiliates, the team re-introduced itself online as “Kane County Cougars 2.0.”

“In our high-tech world, the 2.0 designation represents a new better version of something. We are delighted to introduce you to the Kane County Cougars 2.0,” the team said in a Facebook post.

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Curtis Haug, vice president and general manager of the Cougars, reflected on the team’s 30 years as an affiliate team and said “it’s been our pleasure to provide a great atmosphere to develop young players” and promised more good times to come at the “beautiful” Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to positively impact the game of baseball over the past three decades,” Haug said. “We look forward to continuing to provide a quality baseball experience for our fans as well as the awesome, family-friendly, affordable entertainment, in a safe and secure environment, that they have become accustomed to over the past 30 years.”

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The Cougars played their first game in Kane County in 1991 after moving from Wisconsin to Geneva. The team has been affiliated with six MLB franchises during its 30 years in Kane County, spending the last five years as a part of the Arizona Diamondbacks structure.

Players who are promoted from affiliated minor league teams must stay within that franchise as they progress. With the Cougars now unaffiliated, a player will be able to progress into any of the MLB’s 30 franchises.

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