Toronto Blue Jays: Extending Buffalo Bisons affiliation is the right move

The Toronto Blue Jays have extended their agreement with the Buffalo Bisons for another two years, through the 2020 season and it represents a smart move.

Fans and media alike may regularly disagree with decisions made by the Toronto Blue Jays. However, there is at least one move which virtually everyone should be in agreement with.

As reported by Brayton Wilson of WGR 550, the Blue Jays have extended their affiliation with the Buffalo Bisons for another two years, through the 2020 season. The deal was announced on Friday.

There are several reasons this agreement makes a lot of sense. These reasons include the proximity, the facilities and — most of all — the relationships.

This was all reaffirmed by Ben Cherington, who is Toronto’s vice president of baseball operations. As reported by Amy Moritz of The Buffalo News, Cherington said:

"“I think it’s the people more than anything. They are people who care about baseball, who care about Buffalo, and who care about being part of something special. We can talk about facility and location and those things are important, but what’s most important are the people inside those facilities and at those locations. When we think about the relationship, we think about the people more than anything else.”"

Given how much both sides value the relationship, it would be natural to wonder why the extension was only for two years. If the affiliation works so well, why not add more years?

In fairness to the Blue Jays and Bisons, this aspect is outside of their control. As per Bluebird Banter, Rule 56: Standard Player Development Contract (PDC) states:

"Each PDC is signed for either two or four years, except in some rare cases. During the final year of the contract, MLR 56 (d) gives a very specific timeline on when various steps to re-affiliation can be done. If any team fails to follow this timeline (for example, if Alex Anthopoulos accidentally said that he wanted to leave Las Vegas before September 16) it is considered to be tampering and is punishable by the Commissioner."

The reality is the Blue Jays and Bisons had likely known for some time they were going to extend the affiliation again. Regardless, the two sides got it right, in making the announcement official on Friday.

That’s because the Bisons will be celebrating ‘Blue Jays Weekend’ on May 5 and 6, at Coca-Cola Field. There really was no better time to confirm the extension.