Salt Lake City became the temporary home of once- and future-Angels nearly six years ago. Since then, the Salt Lake Stingers and Anaheim Angels have each gone through name changes, but the marriage between the two franchises will continue for at least six more seasons.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Salt Lake Bees signed a four-year contract extension on Tuesday at Franklin Covey Field. Combined with the two years remaining on the current contract, it means the Bees will continue to be the Angels' Triple-A affiliate at least through the 2012 season.
"This four-year extension of our player development contract with the Salt Lake Bees through the 2012 season is the direct result of the tremendous professional relationship the Angels have with the Bees organization," said Angels director of player development Tony Reagins. "The Bees share our same ideals and commitment to being a professional organization and we look forward to continued success in the years to come."
A press conference announcing the deal was held Tuesday afternoon at Franklin Covey Field. The Angels were represented by Reagins and vice president/general manager Bill Stoneman, while team owner Larry H. Miller and general manager Marc Amicone spoke for the Bees.
"I'm really excited about this," said Miller. "This is a very significant enterprise we've entered into with the Angels. . . . One of the things we like about our affiliation with the Angels is that we think they reflect a lot of things we want to reflect in our businesses and in our community. One of the major ones of those is stability."
Sixteen of the 25 players currently on the Angels' roster have played for Salt Lake. In fact, of the 24 players on the Bees opening day roster, 15 have spent some time with the Angels this season, including pitchers Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders, second baseman Howie Kendrick and catcher Mike Napoli.
"Today is a great day for the Bees and our fans," said Amicone. "We believe the Angels are one of the best organizations in Major League Baseball, and we believe this strengthens Triple-A baseball in Salt Lake City. Their farm system is consistently ranked in the top five in all of baseball, and they have a commitment to growing players from within and that bodes really well for their minor-league partners."
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com