Estevan Florial suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right wrist after crashing into the outfield wall during today’s game, the Yankees announced. They did not give a timetable for his return. Florial will undergo more tests Monday and I imagine we’ll learn more then.
For what it’s worth, George Springer missed two months with a non-displaced wrist fracture after being hit by a pitch in 2015. He was hit on July 1st and didn’t return to the lineup until September 1st. I guess the Springer injury tells us two months is a ballpark estimate for Florial’s return? Sucks. Here’s the play:
The injury doesn’t mean much for the Yankees at the MLB level. Florial was not a realistic candidate to make the Opening Day roster despite Aaron Hicks’ back injury, and the odds were against him playing in the big leagues this year. The injury does mean Florial will lose development time, which is not ideal given his pitch recognition issues.
Depending on his timetable, Florial’s injury could impact the Yankees at the trade deadline. He is their top prospect and would presumably be a trade chip to land a high-end starter or whatever else the Yankees need. Hopefully Florial will be back in action well before then. Either way, what a bummer. Florial was having a great spring.