Frederick Keys are an Orioles affiliate once again, starting in 2026

Major League Baseball renewed its affiliation with the Frederick Keys making it a High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles once again starting in the season It will mark the return of affiliated baseball back in Frederick County Maryland for the first time since The Keys will play in the South Atlantic League and will once again be a part of the Orioles farm system meaning fans watching players in Frederick could end up seeing those same stars play in the big leagues in the future Affiliated professional baseball is coming back here to the Frederick society Attain Sports CEO and unit owner Greg Baroni declared during a press conference The Keys will play at Harry Grove Stadium which is undergoing a million renovation Reports of the Keys return to Minor League Baseball began in May We are thrilled that affiliated baseball is returning to Frederick Orioles general manager Mike Elias declared in a announcement The Frederick public and fans have reliably been strong supporters of the Orioles and we look forward to building on a -year partnership with the Keys Frederick s baseball legacy runs deep dating back to the s It became Baltimore s Class A-Advanced affiliate between to There are only so a large number of communities across this country that get to say they are minor league baseball towns and currently Frederick returns to that list Frederick Mayor Michael O Connor declared Major League Baseball made big changes back in following the COVID- pandemic cutting teams including the Keys who had been as an minor league affiliate since It joined the six-team MLB Draft League which operates as an amateur collegiate summer baseball league to showcase for draft-eligible prospects As a end of the Keys returning as an Orioles affiliate the Aberdeen IronBirds which play in Ripken Stadium in Harford County Maryland will drop to the MLB Draft League Both teams will retain their original cities and identities WTOP s Jos Uma a contributed to this story Source