The Cleveland Guardians took a logical chance at the time.
It was December 2023, and they decided to make a trade with the New York Yankees. They wanted Estevan Florial, and they dealt away Cody Morris to get him.
It didn’t really work out.
It was a low-risk maneuver, and it felt at the time like it might have at least a bit of upside. Florial was once a top prospect in the Yankees’ system.
Instead, Florial didn’t last long in Cleveland, and he’s no longer in MLB. For the second consecutive year, he’ll be playing elsewhere.
Estevan Florial Signs in Mexico
Estevan Florial has signed a contract in the Mexican League for the 2027 season. According to the league’s official website, he’s joining Dorados de Chihuahua.
It’ll be Florial’s third different team in the Mexican League in two years.
When he left the Guardians, he first went to Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization. For Hanwa, Florial hit .274 in 65 games while hitting 18 doubles, two triples and eight home runs while stealing 13 bases.
He then spent the winter in the Mexican Winter League at the end of 2025, which set him up to remain in Mexico for their full-season league in 2026.
Florial played his first 27 games in 2026 with Leones de Yucatan and struggled with just a .193 average.
After he was moved to Caliente de Durango, though, Florial broke out with a .332 average in 61 games that included 13 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 19 stolen bases.
If he keeps playing like that, Florial will be one of the best players in the Mexican League.
Still just 28 years old, Florial has an outside chance of a return to MLB, but for now, he seems content to stay south of the border.
Estevan Florial MLB Career
Florial came to the Yankees as an international signing from the Dominican Republic.
He peaked as high as the No. 26 prospect in all of baseball in the Baseball Prospectus rankings before the 2018 season. He was also a top-50 prospect for both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and he made an appearance in the Futures Game.
By the time Florial reached the majors, though, it never really worked for him.
He went 1-for-3 in a single game in 2020.
In 2021, Florial got 11 games and went 6-for-20 with two doubles and a homer — so far, so good.
It got rough in 2022 with a 3-for-31 (.097) stint in 17 MLB games.
Then in 2023 still with the Yankees, Florial hit .230 in 19 games with a .635 OPS.
His minor league numbers didn’t leave enough hope at that point, and so the Yanks traded him to Cleveland.
Florial played 36 games for the Guardians in 2024 and was 17-for-98 (.173) with six doubles, two triples, three home runs and two stolen bases. His OPS was .631.
Given his pedigree and athleticism, Florial probably could’ve hung around on the fringes of MLB, but he chose a different path, one that took him first to Korea and now to Mexico.
Guardians’ Failed Trade Reclamation Project Signs With Mexican Team