Outfielder Esteban Florial, who was considered the top prospect of the New York Yankees, is expected to be on the KBO League stage in the Hanwha Eagles uniform.메이저놀이터
John Heyman of the New York Post, a leading source of the Major League Baseball (MLB), wrote on social networking service (SNS) on the 11th (Korea time), "Florial has agreed to join Hanwha in Korea."
Hanwha declined to say, "One of the candidates for recruitment."
Florial, a right - left - left outfielder from the Dominican Republic, signed with the Yankees in 2015 on an international amateur free contract.
Ahead of the 2019 season, MLB.COM ranked Florial at 44th. Baseball America ranked higher at 39th. It was the highest among minor leaguers under the Yankees.
Florial made his big league debut in 2020, but failed to make a soft landing. MLB's overall performance is .192 (41 hits in 213 at-bats), four homers, and 22 RBIs in 84 games. In the minor leagues, he played in 745 games, batting .265 with 111 homers, 415 RBIs, and 172 steals.
Hanwha noted that Florial is a player with both long hitting power and main strength, with 20 home runs and 20 steals (28 home runs and 25 steals) in the minor league Triple-A in 2023.
The foreign hitter for Hanwha in 2024 was Yonatan Peraza. Peraza played in 122 games this year and posted a batting average of 0.275 with 24 home runs and 70 points, but his batting average dropped to 0.229 in the second half of the year. He also exposed his weaknesses in defense.
MLB Trade Rumors introduced, "Florial has the main force and long-range power, and showed good throwing ability by playing in center field."
As reporter Heyman reported, if Florial signs with Hanwha, Hanwha can ease center field concerns in 2025.