Guards add OF depth in trade with Yanks for Florial

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians have started to add to their outfield depth.

On Tuesday, the team announced that it traded right-hander Cody Morris to the Yankees in exchange for outfielder Estevan Florial. Entering the 2019 season, Florial was ranked New York’s top prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Florial has played in a handful of big league games over the past three seasons. He exceeded his rookie status in 2022, but still hasn’t played more than 19 games in a single Major League season. Spending most of the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the 26-year-old hit .284 with a .945 OPS, 23 doubles, 28 homers, 79 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 101 games.

For an offense desperately in need of power, Florial’s pop will be a welcomed asset. The problem Florial experienced with New York was his strikeout ratio. In the Minors in 2023, he struck out 144 times in 101 contests. In ’22, Florial struck out 140 times in 101 games. The Guardians finished ’23 with the lowest strikeout rate in the Majors (18.7%). If they can get some power, they can afford to take on a few more K's.

Florial’s success hasn’t yet transferred to the big leagues. In 19 games last year, he hit .230 with a .635 OPS. In 17 games in ’22, he batted .097 with a .297 OPS. The Guardians are now hoping that with a change of scenery, Florial will blossom into the type of bat that he was projected to become as a prospect a few years ago.

Florial is able to play all three outfield positions. The Guardians will have to figure out who will receive the most at-bats between Florial, Myles Straw, Will Brennan, Ramón Laureano, Steven Kwan and possibly prospects Johnathan Rodriguez and George Valera.

Losing Morris certainly hurts Cleveland’s starting pitching depth, especially if the club decides to move Shane Bieber before Opening Day. But this exchange for a potential power bat is worth the risk. The Guardians still have Ben Lively, Xzavion Curry and eventually Joey Cantillo as starting depth pieces.