After dealing with Estevan Florial, the Yankees have moved on.

The once-promising outfield prоspect was transferred to the Guardians for pitcher Cody Morris, according to the team’s announcement.

Morris, who is 27 years old, has played in 13 games for Cleveland this season, starting five.

 

Over 31 ⅔ innings pitched, the right-hander has a record of 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA and 32 strikeouts.Florial, a 26-year-old who showed great promise with the Yankees in the minors, has failed to deliver when given opportunities in New York.

In 115 at-bats over four seasons with the Yankees, Florial Һit.209, with a home run.

The Yankees’ trades for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, as well as Jasson Dominguez’s expected recovery from an elbow ιnjury, effectively blocked Florial’s road to the major leagues this season.

Guardians Acquire Estevan Florial From Yankees

Both teams have announced that a deal has been finalized, with right-hander Cody Morris going to the Guardians and outfielder Estevan Florial going to Cleveland.

With this trade, Florial’s time with the Yankees, a team he joined out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, comes to a close. Prior to the 2018 season, Florial started to generate hype as a consensus top-50 prоspect across the sport after putting up strong numbers in the lower levels of the minor leagues while still a teenager and reaching the High-A level before turning 20. The outfielder’s fortunes took a turn for the worst in 2018 and 2019, as he suffered mightily at the High-A level. He debuted in the majors during the cut 2020 season and has been a depth outfielder for the Yankees ever since, totaling 48 games played throughout his four years in the club.

Although Florial, who is 26 years old, has a slash line of.209/.313/.296 in 134 major league plate appearances during his career, he has made significant strides in the lower leagues over the past several years. With a career slash line of.265/.358/.490 at the Triple-A level and an even more remarkable slash line of.284/.380/.565 in 101 games at the level in 2023, Fl0rial is quite the impressive hitter. Considering Florial’s little experience in the major leagues thus far, it’s not hard to see him having a career in Cleveland, where he should have no trouble getting at-bats on a regular basis. With an outfield hitting line of.250/.312/.342, the Guardians’ outfielders were the third poorest in the majors last season according to wRC+. Steven Kwan seems to have a firm grip on left field heading into the 2024 season, but Florial could provide a threаt to players like Myles Straw and Ramon Laureano for starting roles.

Morris will be relinquished by the Guardians in return for Florial’s services. The 27-year-old right-hander was selected by the team in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. He made his major league debut in 2022 and had a solid performance in seven games, including five starts. In his debut major league season, Morris walked 12 hitters per nine innings, which drove up his FIP to 4.34. Despite this, he still achieved an outstanding 2.28 ERA in 23 2/3 innings pitched.

Morris had an even more remarkable minor league career, finishing the 2022 season with 80 1/3 innings of work across the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He had a career 1.68 ERA and a strikeout percentage of 37.8%. Morris missed the first few games of the 2023 season with a teres major strain, but he was able to make a triumphant return in June. Despite the right-hander’s respectable Triple-A numbers—a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings worked in 21 appearances—he had a terrible time in six bullpen appearances with the majors, compiling a 6.75 ERA in eight innings pitched.

Morris gives the Yankees an intriguing, optionable arm with strong numbers in the minors and some small-sample success in the big leagues, despite his struggles with injuries and ineffectiveness last year. He has experience pitching out of the rotation and in the bullpen. Any team would be lucky to have that kind of arm, but the Yankees might be especially interested in him after sending cost-controlled pitchers Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, and Michael King to San Diego earlier this month in exchange for Juan Soto.