It breaks our hearts to pass along the news of a tragedy in the New York Yankees’ family on this sunny Sunday. Jesús Montero was one of the best prospects in baseball in the early 2010s and debuted with
the Yankees in September 2011 at age-21. He shined in his first cup of coffee before being traded away in a big-headline deal with the Seattle Mariners the following offseason for another talented young player, Michael Pineda, he faded from the scenes in the majors within a few years but the fans who fell for him didn’t forget his name. So it hurts to report that Montero has died at just 35 years old.
The Venezuelan outlet Líder en Deportes reported the news this morning, as did El Extrabase. Montero was evidently in an accident last week that put him in the ICU in Valencia, Venezuela. Some reports indicated that he was on a motorcycle was struck by a drunk driver, but I haven’t seen anything definite.
It’s almost pointless to point out the obvious, but this really is just awful news. Pinstripe Alley has been around for 20 years at this point, and my history in the community goes back to lurking in the comments section in 2009 before joining the staff a few years later; plenty of fans knew about this fella. In fact, I was hired just a month after Montero was traded to the Mariners. Everyone who followed the Baby Bombers had been so excited about the possibility of Montero serving as an appropriate “bat-first catcher” successor to legend Jorge Posada. He was signed as an international free agent as a teenager in 2006, and by the start of the 2011 campaign, he was ranked as the third-best prospect in all of baseball by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, trailing only slam-dunk superstars Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.
Even though it was at least a bit of a bummer to see Montero traded, we were looking forward to Pineda and to see what the now-former Yankee had to offer in Seattle. Although he didn’t appear terribly likely that he would stick behind the plate, his bat seemed like it would clearly carry him. It unfortunately didn’t work out and he was gone from the majors by 2015, but again, Montero was still a popular name to bring up from time to time. Last offseason, we listed him among the top could-have-beens in Yankees history. The promise of the up-and-comer still felt fresh, even a decade and change later.
It’s hard to believe that Montero is gone. We send our best to his family and to all his loved ones. Rest in peace, Jesús.
