A new era is coming to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate announced on Tuesday that beginning in 2027, it will no longer go by the RailRiders name, which it has used since 2013. The club’s new identity will be revealed in November. This is the first announcement of a full rebranding of a Minor League Baseball team since before the start of the 2026 season.
A press release from the team said that the new identity will “celebrate the region’s beauty, heritage and outdoor legacy while strengthening the connection between the club, its community and one of the most iconic franchises in professional sports,” referring to the parent club in the Bronx.
“This rebrand is about building an identity that our community can rally around for generations to come,” team president and general manager Shawn Reilly said in the release. “As we looked toward the future of baseball in [northeastern Pennsylvania], we saw an opportunity to create something that is deeply rooted in this region while honoring the incredible tradition of baseball that has defined this franchise for decades. We’re excited to share what’s next with our fans.”
Playing out of Moosic, Pa., the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise dates to 1989, when the Triple-A affiliate of the Maine Phillies relocated to the area. The team played as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons from that season through the 2006 campaign, at which time they changed parent clubs, going from Philadelphia to the Yankees, and adopted the name Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
The team spent the entire 2012 season on the road as the Empire State Yankees while PNC Field (known as Lackawanna County Stadium until 2007) was completely rebuilt. The next season naturally marked the beginning of the RailRiders era.
The RailRiders reached the International League Championship Series last year, boasting a roster that over the course of the season included Cam Schlittler and Spencer Jones. The 2016 RailRiders, highlighted by a 24-year-old prospect named Aaron Judge, won the IL title as well as the Triple-A National Championship.
