Rafael Flores
Position: C/1B
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 232 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 11/07/2000
College: Rio Hondo JC (Cal)
How Acquired: Trade (from Yankees)
Signed: Undrafted Free Agent, 2022 (Yankees)
Bonus: N/A
40-man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: 2025
Minor League Free Agency: 2028
Options Left: 3
Overview
Flores wasn’t drafted after attending Rio Hondo JC, then played in Alaska. The Yankees signed him in July 2022 and he moved quickly through their system. He’s a big guy who’s played both catcher and first in the minors, shifting from predominately a first baseman to playing more behind the plate. His defense behind the plate has raised a lot of doubts, but he’s improved to the point where some scouts think he could be roughly adequate there. He has a strong arm, but release and accuracy have been a problem and he’s thrown out only 16% of base stealers in the minors. He doesn’t run well. At the plate, Flores has good power, but it comes with a lot of swing and miss. During his time in the minors, he’s had a significant reverse platoon split. In 2025, Baseball America rated him 8th in the Yankees’ system while FanGraphs put him 20th. The Pirates acquired Flores in the David Bednar trade. BA referred to Flores as a potential second-division regular and FG as a backup. The Pirates called him the main piece in the trade, so return for Bednar seems to be very light.
2022-23
Flores played four games in rookie ball in 2022, then in 2023 the Yankees jumped him up to high A. He didn’t hit for very much power, batting 259/346/366, with an 11.3% walk rate and 24.9% K rate. He spent about two-thirds of his time in the field at first.
2024-25
Flores divided his 2024 season roughly evenly between high A and AA, and added a good deal of power. He batted 285/403/466 at the lower level and 274/359/519 at the higher one. Between the two levels he hit 21 home runs, 15 of them in AA. Flores’ K rate on the season was 25.3%. He drew a lot of walks in high A but his walk rate dropped in AA.
In 2025, the Yankees sent Flores back to AA and he hit 287/346/496 with 15 home runs with similar walk and K rates to the previous year. Shortly before the deadline he got into ten games in AAA.
Flores isn’t on the 40-man roster and will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft after the 2025 season.
Stats
Transactions
July 25, 2022: Signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees.
July 31, 2025: Traded by the New York Yankees with Edgleen Perez and Brian Sanchez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for David Bednar.