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Rafael Flores Jr.

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Rafael Flores Jr.
Flores with the Indianapolis Indians in 2026
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 43
Catcher / First baseman
Born: (2000-11-07) November 7, 2000 (age 25)
Anaheim, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 17, 2025, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2026 season)
Batting average.258
Home runs11
Runs batted in25
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Rafael Flores Jr. (born November 7, 2000) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025.

Career

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New York Yankees

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Flores attended Katella High School in Anaheim, California, and Rio Hondo College.[1] He went unselected in the 2022 MLB draft. While he played collegiate summer baseball for the Alaska Goldpanners, the New York Yankees signed Flores to a professional contract in July 2022.[2]

After signing, Flores appeared in four games for the FCL Yankees in the 2022 season. He played for the Hudson Valley Renegades in 2023[3] and for Hudson Valley and the Somerset Patriots in 2024.[1] Baseball America named Flores the Yankees' Minor League Player of the Year for 2024.[4]

Pittsburgh Pirates

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On July 31, 2025, the Yankees traded Flores, Edgleen Perez, and Brian Sanchez to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for David Bednar.[5] In 36 appearances for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, he batted .281/.363/.459 with six home runs and 28 runs batted in (RBI).[6] On September 16, Flores was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[7] He made his major league debut the following day, recording his first hit.[8] Flores made seven total appearances for Pittsburgh, going 3-for-15 (.200) with two walks.

Flores was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the 2026 season,[9] and was called up to the Pirates in June. On June 11, 2026, Flores hit his first career home run off of Los Angeles Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski.[10] On August 14, he hit a second-inning home run against the Boston Red Sox for his third home run in as many at bats, going back to the previous day's game against the Miami Marlins.[11] On August 19, against the Detroit Tigers, Flores hit a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning to cut the Tigers' lead to 3–2 and hit a home run in the ninth inning to tie the game, before Brandon Lowe hit a walk-off home run off the right-field foul pole. Flores became the first Pirates player since at least 1900 with multiple home runs in a game he did not start according to Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com.[12] He played in a total of 47 games for the Pirates and batted .264 with 11 home runs and 25 RBI.[13]

References

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  1. 1 2 Johnson, Greg (July 5, 2024). "From JUCO to the pros: Rafael Flores making early impression in Yankees organization". Trentonian. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ Olsen, Jeff (July 22, 2022). "Goldpanners' Rafael Flores to sign with Yankees organization". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
  3. ↑ "Robo Flo: Rafael Flores forged new path in first full pro season". Minor League Baseball.
  4. ↑ Haynes, Stephen. "Six current and former Renegades players, and a coach, tabbed for Arizona Fall League". Poughkeepsie Journal.
  5. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (July 31, 2025). "Yanks overhaul 'pen with Bednar, Doval and Bird trades". mlb.com. MLB.com. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  6. ↑ McDonald, Darragh (September 16, 2025). "Pirates Select Rafael Flores". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ https://triblive.com/sports/pirates-select-contract-of-c-1b-rafael-flores-acquired-from-yankees-in-david-bednar-trade/
  8. ↑ https://triblive.com/sports/pirates-rafael-flores-gives-glimpse-of-hard-hitting-future-on-1st-major-league-hit/
  9. ↑ "Pirates Make Big List of Spring Training Roster Cuts". si.com. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Flores' 1st big league HR sparks 4-run frame for Bucs … and goes 440 feet". mlb.com. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  11. ↑ Stepansky, Aiden. "Flores joins rare group of Pirates with 3rd HR in as many ABs". mlb.com. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  12. ↑ Stepansky, Aiden. "Bucs author 'Cinderella story' 9th: Game-tying homer, then walk-off blast". mlb.com. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  13. ↑ Laible, Don (October 9, 2026). "Rafael Flores Jr. Ready to Take Next Step in Pirates Depth Chart". The Bradenton Times. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
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