ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals are dropping plans to purchase their top minor league affiliate in Memphis because of the economic downturn.
The Cardinals renewed a four-year agreement in September to keep the Redbirds as their Triple-A affiliate. At the same time, they announced plans to buy the team from the not-for-profit Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation.
The foundation was informed in a letter late last month that the deal was off.
Redbirds president of business operations Bill Harter said the Cardinals cited the economy and uncertainties about how it will impact baseball.