MiLB Unveils Seven New Copa de la Diversión Identities for 2026 Season

Minor League Baseball added seven brand-new Copa de la Diversión identities for 2026, with two clubs entering the program for the first time and five others scrapping existing personas for complete rebrands. The announcements landed Wednesday, March 18, expanding a program that started with just four markets in 2017 and has grown to 98 participating teams across the MiLB landscape.

The seven new identities range from the culturally layered to the gloriously absurd. El Paso's entry is among the most substantive: the Chihuahuas, a Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, will play as the El Paso Matachines, drawing on a tradition rooted in the borderlands that blends indigenous, Spanish and Mexican influences. Matachines dancers wear elaborate headdresses and ayoyotes, Aztec percussion instruments strapped to the ankles or wrists. The Chihuahuas play in the only Minor League ballpark with a sightline across the border into Mexico, making the choice pointed rather than decorative.

Charlotte's Triple-A club, a White Sox affiliate, takes on the identity of the Guacamayas de Charlotte. Guacamaya is the Spanish word for macaw, a bird the Knights describe as symbolizing "sacred union and lasting relationships" in Latin culture. The team framed the new identity as a commitment to a Latin American community that has made Charlotte, in the club's words, "a very popular transplant city."

The remaining five identities include the Frijoles Saltarines de Fayetteville (the Woodpeckers, Single-A Houston), the Columbus Refrescos de Fuente (the Clingstones, Double-A Atlanta), the Bicicletas del Noroeste de Arkansas, the Gusanos de Mezcal del Burg, and the Luchadores Voladores de Hill City. That last one translates to Flying Wrestlers of Hill City, which is exactly what it sounds like.

The program has moved fast since MiLB launched it in 2018 with 33 teams. By 2020, 92 of the then-160 affiliated teams had signed on. In 2024, the number hit 98, representing more than 80 percent of the full MiLB landscape. The Copa structure requires teams to adopt alternate on-field jerseys and caps during designated games throughout the season, with each identity meant to reflect the specific Hispanic and Latino communities surrounding a given ballpark rather than a generic cultural gesture.

The seven new additions are already listed in the MiLB official store under a dedicated 2026 Copa section. Merchandise for established Copa clubs, including fitted caps from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and Jersey Shore BlueClaws, has historically retailed in the $40 range.