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Yankees send top two prospects to Minors

Loaisiga expected to rejoin big league club early next month
Estevan Florial was shut down on March 16 after fracturing his wrist during a Grapefruit League game. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
March 23, 2019

Estevan Florial and Jonathan Loaisiga will not break camp with the big league club, although Loaisiga is expected back soon.The pair of top Yankees prospects -- along with two other players -- were sent to the Minor Leagues, the team announced Saturday.

Estevan Florial and Jonathan Loaisiga will not break camp with the big league club, although Loaisiga is expected back soon.
The pair of top Yankees prospects -- along with two other players -- were sent to the Minor Leagues, the team announced Saturday.

The Florial move comes as no surprise after the top Yankees prospect sustained a non-displaced right wrist fracture and dislocation after hitting the center field fence while trying to make a catch during a March 16 game against the Blue Jays. The 21-year-old will wear a hard cast on his wrist for several weeks and be reevaluated when it's removed.
MLB.com's No. 57 overall prospect was having a breakout Spring with a .355/.429/.516 slash line, one homer, two doubles, four RBIs and seven runs scored in 13 Grapefruit League games. Across six Minor League seasons, Florial has hit .281 with 34 homers in 318 games.

Loaisiga, the club's second-ranked prospect, got his first taste of the bigs last season and enjoyed success until he was shut down with shoulder inflammation. He was called up to The Show from Double-A Trenton on June 12 and made his Major League debut three days later in a spot start against the Rays. The right-hander earned the win after striking out six over five scoreless frames.
The 24-year-old ran into some trouble in his last Grapefruit League outing and his spring ERA climbed to 6.75. However, he recorded 18 strikeouts over 16 innnings. Loaisiga was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but is expected to rejoin the big league club shortly after the season begins to fill in a void in the rotation as Luis Severino and veteran C.C. Sabathia continue to rehab injuries.
Left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. and righty David Hale also were assigned to Minor League camp on Saturday.

Rob Terranova is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RobTnova24.