5 Cleveland Guardians free agents who should not be back in 2025

4. Estevan Florial - Outfielder

When the Cleveland Guardians sent Cody Morris to the New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Estevan Florial, the thought process was sound. Cleveland's rotation was full, and there was no path to playing time in the majors, while their outfield was an offensive mess outside of Steven Kwan.

Taking a chance on Florial under these circumstances was fine at the time, and there was some hope that a change of scenery could result in him living up to being the player that many thought he would be. The problem was that the same issues that plagued him in New York continued in Cleveland, and he was mostly a non-factor at the plate.

Once it became clear that Florial was still the same player and nothing was going to change, the Guardians should have pulled the plug then and there. The problem is that the Guardians decided that Florial was worth 111 plate appearances and being rostered until the end of May.

The reality is that Florial is not a major league-caliber player and does not belong on a big league roster anywhere. In fact, being in the minor league system of a team that needs outfield help and is taking up space that would be better utilized by someone with an actual future in the majors is a roster construction malpractice. Cleveland should not bring Florial back and not think twice about it.