5 Yankees who might have trouble keeping 40-man roster spot

3. Estevan Florial

Like Garcia, Florial’s development has seemingly hit a snag and he might be of better use elsewhere. At the moment, Florial sits alongside Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Miguel Andújar and Everson Pereira as the outfielders on the 40-man roster.

With so many outfield reps to go around last year, the Yankees instead opted to award Brett Gardner with 140 games instead of seeing what use Florial could be. The lefty slugger appeared in just 11 games and logged 20 at-bats, but finished with a .300 average and .990 OPS. He was also solid in the field. But that wasn’t enough for the Yankees to continue the experiment.

That’s why we’re questioning his place on the roster. Throw in Ender Inciarte’s addition on a minor-league contract, and the former Brave making noise in spring training could be the difference here. Florial’s been losing value since 2017 and didn’t see ample MLB time when injuries and regressions thinned the Yankees’ outfield. So what’s the point?

Florial’s defensive versatility and smooth swing might intrigue somebody on the trade market, specifically if he were part of a larger package, and the Yankees shouldn’t hesitate to move him with prospects like Jasson Dominguez, Everson Pereira and Brandon Lockridge higher in the pecking order.