Report: Yanks to cut ties with Columbus

NEW YORK -- The Yankees' 27-year affiliation with the Columbus Clippers appears to be coming to an end.

According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch on Thursday, the Yankees will not renew their deal with the Clippers, who have served as New York's Triple-A affiliate since 1979.

Yankees spokesman Ben Tuliebitz said that the team had no comment on the report, though a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the Yankees would be moving their Triple-A team out of Columbus in 2007.

Columbus Baseball Team Inc., which has until Sept. 30 to sign with another big-league organization, is set to begin negotiations with available teams Saturday. According to the newspaper, the Mets, Nationals and Orioles are the only teams currently without Triple-A affiliates.

"I can guarantee there will be baseball in Columbus next season," Clippers president Ken Schnacke told the Dispatch.

The report indicated that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is looking to move the Triple-A team closer to New York, with Scranton, Pa. -- which is approximately 120 miles west of New York City -- representing a possible destination.

The Phillies' Triple-A team has been in Scranton since 1989, but the Dispatch reports that Philadelphia allowed its contract to lapse, opening the door for another team to move in.