The Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees have been rivals for many decades. However, sometimes teams can look past that to address their own areas of need.
That's exactly what happened on Tuesday afternoon as the two sides finalized a trade. The Guardians announced that they are sending RHP Cody Morris to the Yankees in exchange for OF Estevan Florial.
It's no secret that Cleveland is in dire need of outfield help while also possessing a surplus in starting pitching. New York on the other hand needs more pitchers while having a number of outfielders.
Needless to say, that's exactly how trades happen.
Cleveland is losing Morris who spent the last six seasons with the organization. He had a ton of potential and a lot of hype surrounding him as a prospect, but unfortunately had trouble staying healthy.
Morris has appeared in 13 games (five starts) over his two-season career and owns a 3.41 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Ironically, one of the bright spots in his young career came against the Yankees in the 2022 ALDS when he pitched two perfect innings and had three strikeouts.
The Guardians in return are getting more outfield depth in Florial. The 26-year-old has played in 48 big league games dating back to 2020. He has a career slash line of .209/.313/.296 and an OPS of .609.
Florial joins a Cleveland outfield with a ton of question marks surrounding it heading into the 2024 season. Will Myles Straw play every day? Will Steven Kwan shift over to center field? How does Will Brennan play into all of this? Where will Ramon Laureano get his playing time?
It will be an interesting spring training to see how all of this plays out.
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