In the first move of possibly many, on the minor league level, for the New York Mets, the team announced that it reached a two year agreement with the New Orleans Zephyrs to be the organizations’ Triple-A affiliate.

“We are excited to relocate our top Minor League operation to New Orleans to become a part of the rebirth and renaissance of one of America's great cities,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said to Chris Girandola of MLB.com before the Mets took on the Florida Marlins at Shea.

The moves comes after the team decided to end it’s 38-year relationship with the Norfolk Tides. It was reported in the Virginia Pilot, earlier in the month, the Tides were upset neither Omar Minaya nor assistant general manager Tony Bernazard visited the team this past season.

A call last week from Norfolk native David Wright was too little, too late in the Triple-A team’s eyes, so it looked elsewhere and signed with the Baltimore Orioles for two years.

Although the Mets didn’t have much choice after the Columbus Clippers agreed with the Washington Nationals, New Orleans does have it’s advantages for the team.

By being in a larger metropolitan area, the Mets will be to move players in and out of the city easier. A bigger city means a larger airport, which is located close to the stadium, with more direct flights to New York.

Although the city is still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina, the players will get a taste of a larger market, which may help prepare them better for life in New York.

New Orleans also has a Met connection built in. Former 1969 hero Ron Swoboda has been the color analyst for the Zephyrs since their inception in 1998. An instructor for the Mets during the team’s fantasy camp, Swoboda may be called upon to have a bigger role with the parent club.

That remains to be seen and this agreement is no slam dunk either. The Zephyrs are the eastern most team in the Pacific Coast League and many games are played in the western time zone. The Mets may have problems bringing personnel back to New York if the team is on the road.

The Mets and Orioles deals finish up a hectic week around Triple-A baseball, which also saw the Phillies move their affiliation to Ottawa, which will move to Allentown, PA in 2008 and the Yankees inking a deal with the Red Barons in Scranton.

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