Cardinals look to buy Triple-A franchise

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Last week, the St. Louis Cardinals renewed a four-year affiliate agreement with Triple-A Memphis. Soon, they may own the farm club.

The Cardinals and Memphis Redbirds, their top affiliate since 1998, signed a non-binding letter of intent to negotiate the purchase from the Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation.

“We are excited about the prospects of this opportunity to continue to provide quality professional baseball to Memphis and the Mid-South,” said Dave Chase, the Redbirds’ president of baseball operations. “The vision that created AutoZone Park will continue to grow if the process with the Cardinals leads to a completed transaction.”

The parties said in a joint release that they expect it will take several weeks of negotiations to achieve a definitive agreement.

The Cardinals own all or part of their teams in Springfield, Mo.; Palm Beach, Fla.; and Johnson City, Tenn. They also own their flagship radio station, KTRS-AM.