The Yankees’ Triple-A club is getting a new name, and it comes with a nod to both the region and the franchise’s own past.
Beginning with the 2027 season, the team will be known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Highlanders, the organization announced Saturday. In its announcement, the club said, "The SWB Highlanders name carries a dual meaning rooted in both place and baseball history," and explained that it points to the NEPA landscape around PNC Field while also reaching back to the Yankees’ original identity.
The team added, "The New York Highlanders played at Hilltop Park in Manhattan's Washington Heights from 1903 to 1912 before the franchise adopted the Yankees moniker. Just as the Highlanders became the Yankees more than a century ago, today's SWB Highlanders are becoming tomorrow's Bronx Bombers."
The RailRiders name had been in place since 2013, but that era is now ending as the organization joins a growing list of minor league clubs changing identities this offseason. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate is also rebranding, and will now be called the Ozarks Springbirds.
The new look will arrive with plenty of pitching intrigue. Heading into 2027, two of the Yankees’ top prospects are expected to anchor the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rotation: right-handers Elmer Rodriguez and Carlos Lagrange. Barring a trade or an unexpected injury, both are expected to open the year as starters, though either could eventually end up in the bullpen at some point during the season.
Rodriguez already got his first taste of the majors in 2026, when he posted a 5.40 ERA across six starts for the Yankees. He was far sharper in the minors, putting up a 2.45 ERA in 21 Triple-A starts this season. The challenge now is carrying that level of success into the big leagues.
Lagrange’s 2026 season took a different path. He opened the year in the Triple-A rotation, then moved to the bullpen in June and became a late-season relief option for the Yankees. A right shoulder capsular sprain kept the 23-year-old out for most of the second half.
With the rebrand and those two arms likely front and center, the Highlanders’ first season should have no shortage of attention.
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