It was first reported last fall that around 25 percent of teams' minor league affiliates could be contracted under a new MLB proposal.
While nothing is official, New York congressman Max Rose said on Wednesday that fans "should be extraordinarily concerned" about the Staten Island Yankees being among the teams that could be downsized.
There is reportedly a proposal under consideration that would eliminate roughly 40 minor league teams, with the logic being that the elimination of those teams would lead to improvements -- including regarding ballparks -- throughout the minors.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken precedent over the discussions about Minor League Baseball, but NY1 reports that Congressman Rose and Staten Island Borough President James Oddo wrote a letter to the Yankees last week asking to keep the team in operation.
"There are negotiations currently taking place between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball," Yankees president Randy Levine said this past November. "We have been assured today that there have been no decisions made regarding the elimination of the Staten Island Yankees. We support the Staten Island Yankees and their facility, and people should give the negotiations a chance to conclude before speculating on any outcome."
Aside from Staten Island, the Yankees have another Single-A affiliate in the Charleston RiverDogs, and if the goal of the minor league reorganization was to be "more geographically compact" as Baseball America first reported, then keeping the Staten Island Yankees over the RiverDogs could be the more logical option.
Attendance has been down for Staten Island, per NY1, but the borough is pleading with the Yankees to keep the team going, hoping things can pick up in the future.