Bristol Baseball, Inc., the operators behind former White Sox Advanced-Rookie Appalachian League affiliate, the Bristol White Sox, has announced today their new partnership with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The White Sox are still connected with another Advanced-Rookie Appalachian League team, the Great Falls Voyagers. The addition marks the ninth team to affiliate themselves with the Pirates organization, the organizations first rookie-league affiliate since the Princeton Pirates in 1989.

The White Sox have had issues with Bristol in the past. Insufficient funding and inadequate field conditions led to MLB warnings in 2009. Even though the funds were  always collected, it appears it just was’t worth the effort.

With the sale the White Sox have ended their nearly 20 year affiliation, which began originally in 1995. Together, the teams achieved two Appalachian League titles (1998,2002)

The White Sox have already announced their intentions of acquiring an Arizona League team in replacement.