Why the Yankees Should Give Estevan Florial a Big-League Opportunity

Yankees prospect Chris Gittens made his way to the Bronx via the Scranton Shuttle on Saturday, a move that the organization hopes will inject life into a lifeless offense. 

The youth movement must continue. This time, in the form of Estevan Florial.

Florial promotion talk was going to be a discussion surrounding the New York Yankees in 2021, no matter the circumstances.

Once the Yankees’ top positional prospect prior to Jasson Dominguez’s arrival, Florial flashed enticing tools across the board, despite lacking success in the stat column. Added to the 40-man roster in the winter of 2019, it was only a matter of time before his number was called.

The questions around Florial at the plate are valid. The 23-year-old center fielder has played in just 24 games above A-ball. He’s hitting .189 with a .740 OPS in 95 combined at-bats between Somerset and Scranton. Strikeouts (31 over that same span) continue to persist, while getting on base at a 29% clip. That isn’t ideal for someone who can wreak havoc on the base paths.

The Bronx, however, is yearning for excitement. The Yankees are treading water in a tough AL East, sitting in fourth place in a division that was supposed to be theirs. Their offense has been pedestrian at times—22nd in OPS, 13th in home runs—and flat out bad in others (26th in batting average, 29th in stolen bases, first in double plays).

There are a number of positions that can be upgraded, but none greater than center field.

Aaron Hicks, marred by injuries throughout his big-league career, was bitten by the injury bug once again. He’s out for the season with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist.

37-year-old Brett Gardner is manning center on an everyday basis but is hitting below the Mendoza line and is best suited as a fourth outfielder at this point in his career. Aaron Judge and Tyler Wade are the backups, neither having any place in the middle of Death Valley.

Could a trade happen? Sure, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman rarely panics, despite the cries for help among fans. A deal is certainly on the table, but for late July, not early June.

Which takes us back to the original discussion: Why not give Florial the opportunity?

His bat may still be a work in progress, but he would bring three things to the table that the Yankees can desperately use: speed, defense and athleticism.

“His defense is special, potentially Gold Glove caliber,” said one scout who has seen Florial play on multiple occasions. “He can be a pest when on base if he wants to. He has a super makeup, he plays the game hard and hustles every day.”

His left-handed bat can be of use to the Yankees too, thanks in large part to the comfy confines of Yankee Stadium. Florial flexed his muscles with six home runs between Double-A and Triple-A. “His long, uppercut swing doesn’t help with strikeouts but his bat speed and pull power makes him a nice fit in [Yankee] Stadium,” the scout added.

For an organization that enlists boppers like Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez, as well as players who aren’t fleet of foot like DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela, Florial can be a change of pace type player that can bring excitement to both the locker room and fan base.

Once upon a time, the Yankees were looking for a spark to reinvigorate their team. They turned to a young Dominican native who hit left handed and didn’t have quite the success in Triple-A the organization was expecting.

In 2005, the Yankees promoted Robinson Cano. Similarities can be drawn to the multiple time All-Star; not in potential or success, but in spark.

Cano was called up after the Yankees got off to a 10-15 start, with the hopes that he could become a catalyst to a turnaround. Cano, of course, went on to play in 132 games in his first season and was the AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, while the Yankees went 85-52 the rest of the way.

You don’t even have to look as far back as Cano to find Florial’s potential. Gardner was brought up to the big leagues in 2008. His calling card was speed, defense and hustle. Who would be a better mentor for Florial to share a locker room and road trips with? Gardner has carved out a hell of a run for over a decade, something the Yankees would love to have in the youngster. 

Florial may not have the potential of a Robinson Cano. He may not even have the type of career Gardner has had. But the Yankees could definitely use a spark to get themselves out of this funk, one that has them six-and-a-half games out of first place and just two games above .500.

And Estevan Florial has the potential to be that spark for this team.  

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