Estevan Florial, who hit 28 home runs in 2023 for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, is on the move after the Yankees traded him to the Guardians on Tuesday for pitcher Cody Morris.
Colin E. Braley | AP file photo
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Estevan Florial’s time with the Yankees is over.
The lefty-hitting outfielder, who was once among the team’s top-ranked prospects, was traded Tuesday to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for right-handed pitcher Cody Morris, the Yankees announced.
Florial, 26, played parts of four MLB seasons with the Yankees, batting .209 with one home run, 11 RBI and six stolen bases in 48 games. He hit .230 with eight RBI and three stolen bases in 19 games last season.
Originally signed as an international free agent in 2015, the Dominican-born Florial became a touted prospect in the Yankees system due to his combination of power at the plate and speed in centerfield and on the basepaths.
Florial frequently produced in the minor leagues, including last season when he slugged 28 home runs with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but failed to catch on in the majors. The Yankees designated Florial for assignment last April, but he remained with the organization after clearing waivers.
A path to big-league playing team appeared even less certain heading into the 2024 season, with the Yankees having acquired lefty-hitting outfielders Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham in recent weeks.
In Morris, the Yankees added a 27-year-old pitcher with 13 games, including five starts, of MLB experience. Morris, who made his MLB debut in 2022, pitched to a 6.75 ERA across eight innings, all in relief, last season.
Equipped with a mid-90s fastball, a cutter he throws nearly as frequently, and a changeup with a whiff rate exceeding 40% the past two seasons, Morris boasts a 3.41 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 31.2 innings in his major-league career. He pitched to a 3.23 ERA across two minor-league levels in 2023.
Morris adds another arm to a Yankees pitching staff that currently has a vacancy in its starting rotation behind Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt, and that has not replaced the relief innings provided last season by Michael King, Keynan Middleton and Lou Trivino.
After sending King and three other pitchers to the San Diego Padres to acquire Soto and Grisham, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said “onboarding pitching is gonna be important.”
“We’re in the market for pitching (to) see if we can reinforce it,” Cashman said earlier this month. “We like the pitching we have, but we also recognize that if we can add to it, it’s important to do (so). The rotation-bullpen combo, all the above, from an insurance standpoint or something established that you can plug and play with, we’re going to continue conversations in that arena.”