BOONE: YANKEES RELATIONSHIP WITH ESTEVAN FLORIAL IS "COMPLICATED"

I feel like we have suddenly dumbed down to a social media relationship status. I bet Estevan Florial does too, and if by some miracle he doesn't, well he should.

I knew the writing was on the wall before the season started when we wrote THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR ESTEVAN FLORIAL. He had potential that the Yankees loved, but no clear path to the big leagues and his trade value was tarnished. I hated to see the Yankees stash Florial down in Triple-A while they started useless dead weight like Aaron Hicks before finally releasing him in May. Holding onto Hicks for so long was a huge mistake, and now we get to wonder if hiding Florial was also.

Here we are in September and the writing is still on the wall. Florial won't get a shot, and Aaron Boone knows it too. He just won't come out and speak the truth. He won't say anything right now, especially if it could mean saving his job even though he sucks at it. He was asked by reporters why Florial wasn't called up when Hicks was released, and this was his weak answer:

"Yeah, he definitely deserved it. I don’t think any of us would question his talent and it’s been good to see him go out and really put together a strong season," Boone said HERE. "Look, he’s been in the conversation honestly for a long time now because he has had a strong year. Some of it’s been complicated by not being on the 40-man anymore."

I stand by what I said before, WEAK. Weak manager, weak puppet, weak everything so this shouldn't surprise anyone. The Yankees could've given him a shot. The lack of a 40-man roster spot is just hot garbage because Willie Calhoun, Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney were non-roster outfielders who were added to the 40-man roster. Boone's "it's complicated" answer is just hot garbage.

Don't be fooled by it. Florial's one stand-out weakness this season has been his strikeout rate. His .280 average, 24 homers, 69 RBI, 23 steals, and 63 walks in 94 games were all upgrades for the Yankees, especially when you compared his stats with what the Yankees were doing every game. They didn't love his 30% strikeout rate. I don't love it either, but if the guy in your system is succeeding in Triple-A, why not give him a shot? Only answer is they gave up on a 25-year-old kid. They didn't believe in him.

They didn't believe in him. That's all it comes down to. Instead, they believed in Hicks for 8 years and held onto him for so long stupidly. This organization has no intelligence or logic. I don't think Florial was the answer to our prayers, but he could've helped more than Hicks and that I am confident in.

Florial will be a minor-league free agent at the end of the season, and he will sign with another team. This new team will give him more of an opportunity than the Yankees ever did. When he gets that new opportunity, I hope he succeeds and shoves it in the Yankees face. He deserves it.

Florial will be "the one that got away" all because the Yankees screwed up. That's the truth, Boone. It's not complicated.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj