In 2020, Massachusetts baseball took a hit when the Red Sox dropped the Lowell Spinners as a minor league affiliate. The move was part of a restructuring of the minor league system that significantly cut back on the number of cities with MLB affiliates.
But now, the Lowell Spinners are set to return in 2026 as part of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. The league had previously announced that Lowell would host a team.
And while it may not be minor league baseball, it’s still a big comeback for the city.
“Today is a day of excitement. Today is a day of foundation building,” City Manager Tom Golden said at an event on Tuesday celebrating the announcement. “Today is a day that we, the City of Lowell, continue to build upon what we had.”
The Spinners last played in 2019 before COVID shut down the minor league season the following year. The prospect of the team losing its affiliation with the Red Sox was something local leaders decried at the time.
Now there’s hope that the new Spinners will help generate excitement for the Futures League.
The league, which includes the Worcester Bravehearts, consists of college players looking to continue their play through the summer. The Spinners, whose ownership group includes former Sox player Johnny Damon, will play at LeLacheur Park, the minor league team’s former home.
League commissioner Joe Paolucci said that having the Spinners name and identity back is icing on the cake.
“Being able to play baseball at LeLacheur [Park] and have that part of our league is really, really exciting. It’s something we’ve been working on for a really long time,” Paolucci told GBH News. “So, to see it finally come to fruition is great.”
Paolucci points to recent experience the league has with two of its members, the Norwich Sea Unicorns and the Vermont Lake Monsters. Like the Spinners, both of those teams had previously been part of the minor leagues but were part of the system-wide contraction.
“Those markets were not excited at first to hear about the summer collegiate model that we have,” he said. “But they love it. They absolutely love watching the college players compete at a high level. So I have no doubt that Lowell is gonna be the same way.”
“Having the Spinners name attached to it is gonna draw a lot of attention early on, but we have to prove that we have a great product and people are gonna want to come back,” Paolucci added.
Marc Deschenes and John Croteau are leading the team’s ownership. And for Deschenes, who was born in Lowell, played baseball at UMass Lowell and was drafted by the then-named Cleveland Indians in 1995 before he went on to play for the Pawtucket Red Sox, this is a project that is close to home.
“We’re excited to be back, LeLacheur Park is near and dear to me,” Deschenes said at Tuesday’s announcement. He added, “We’re excited to bring excitement and popularity back to baseball in Lowell.”
