Estevan Florial


Estevan Haniel Florial is a Dominican-Haitian professional baseball outfielder in the New York Yankees organization.

Career

Background

Estevan Florial was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He holds dual-citizenship with Haiti due to his mother being born there. In the first couple of years with the Yankees organization, they mistakenly listed him as being born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which would have made him a forerunner to become the first Haitian-born Major League player. Florial signed with the New York Yankees under the name "Haniel d'Oleo" in 2014. However the contract was voided after he was unable to provide a birth certificate and he re-signed with the Yankees under the name, Estevan Florial in 2015. He made his professional debut that season with the Dominican Summer League Yankees 1 where he batted.313 with seven home runs and 53 RBIs in 57 games.

Minor leagues

He played 2016 with the Pulaski Yankees, Charleston RiverDogs and Tampa Yankees, batting a combined.227 with eight home runs and thirty RBIs in 67 total games among the three teams.
Florial started the 2017 season with Charleston. He was selected to appear in the All-Star Futures Game in July. After batting.297 with 11 home runs, 43 RBIs and 17 stolen bases for Charleston, he was promoted to Tampa in August, where he finished the season slashing.303/.368/.461 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 19 games. The Yankees promoted him to the Trenton Thunder for their postseason but did not appear in a game.
Florial entered 2018 as one of the top prospects in the minor leagues. Playing for Tampa, he broke the hamate bone in his wrist in May and required surgery, costing him three months of the season. In 2019, the Yankees invited Florial to spring training as a non-roster player.