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The Tampa Bay Rays have added a new baseball family of future prospects for the 2021 season. (Getty Images/Michael Reaves )
ST. PETERSBURG, FL The Tampa Bay Rays invited four communities on Wednesday to join them as affiliates under Major League Baseball s new player development structure, which begins in 2021, a news release said.
The Charleston (South Carolina) RiverDogs were invited to become the Rays Low-A affiliate. Charleston served as Tampa Bay s original Low-A affiliate from 1997 until 2004, and affiliated with the New York Yankees from 2005 until 2020. Among the many former Rays prospects who played for Charleston are James Shields, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli. In addition, Rays coaches Matt Quatraro and Paul Hoover both played for Charleston, and Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo managed Charleston in 1999 and 2000.