For months and months, the Yankees trotted out almost every conceivable outfielder from within their organization and outside of it rather than trying Estevan Florial one more time. It’s hard to imagine now, but he was actually on the Opening Day roster. He pinch-ran and entered as a defensive replacement. The next day, the 25-year-old was designated for assignment since the team had signed Franchy Cordero and also wanted to make room for a reliever who was not long for the roster, either (Colten Brewer).
Although there was some thought that a second-division team might claim Florial to give him a chance, he cleared waivers and reported to Triple-A Scranton.