Rafael Flores Selected by Pittsburgh
INDIANAPOLIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates today selected the contract of catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores, their No. 8 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He is set to become the eighth former Indianapolis Indian to make his major league debut this season, following right-handed pitchers Thomas Harrington and Braxton Ashcraft, infielder
INDIANAPOLIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates today selected the contract of catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores, their No. 8 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He is set to become the eighth former Indianapolis Indian to make his major league debut this season, following right-handed pitchers Thomas Harrington and Braxton Ashcraft, infielder Tsung-Che Cheng, outfielder Matt Gorski, right-handed pitchers Cam Sanders and Bubba Chandler, and infielder Cam Devanney.
Flores, 24, was traded to Pittsburgh from New York (AL) on July 31, 2025, with catcher Edgleen Perez and outfielder Brian Sanchez in exchange for right-handed reliever David Bednar. Flores appeared in 36 games with Indianapolis following the trade, hitting .281 (38-for-135) with six home runs, 28 RBI and an .822 OPS. On Aug. 26 vs, Buffalo, he launched a career-high tying two home runs for his first multi-homer game at the Triple-A level.
The backstop appeared 133 games between Double-A Somerset, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Indianapolis this season, posting career highs in hits (142), home runs (22) and RBI (88). In 91 total games behind the dish, he logged a .987 fielding percentage (12 errors in 907 total chances) across 798.0 innings.
Flores was signed by New York (AL) on July 25, 2022, as a non-drafted free agent out of Rio Hondo Junior College (Whittier, Calif.).
Indianapolis’ first-time callups are presented by Franciscan Health