Former big league catcher Jesus Montero passed away recently, according to a report from El Extrabase. The report indicates that Montero was part of a serious traffic accident on October 5 and passed following several days in the hospital. Montero was just 35 years old.
Montero is best known for having been one of the league’s most elite prospects in the early 2010s. Signed out of Venezuela by the Yankees as an amateur, Montero made his pro debut in 2007 at the age of 17. His second professional season saw him break out at the Single-A level, where he hit .326/.376/.491 with 17 homers and 34 doubles in 132 games. That strong performance earned Montero plenty of attention prior to the 2009 season, when he became a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport.
The youngster’s prospect star continued to shoot upwards from there. His 2009 season was cut short by a broken finger that limited him to just 92 games, but he raked when healthy and looked entirely capable in 44 games at the Double-A level. That was enough to get him promoted to Triple-A for the start of the 2010 season, at which point Montero was viewed as a consensus top-5 prospect in the sport. Baseball America went as far as to name him the sport’s #3 prospect, behind only future Hall of Famers Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Montero did what he could to deliver on the hype at Triple-A in 2010, slashing .289/.353/.517 with 21 homers and 34 doubles in 123 games.
The next step for Montero was the majors, and after spending most of the 2011 season at Triple-A he finally made his big league debut with the Yankees on September 1 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. While he did not record a hit in his first big league game, Montero was hit by a pitch in his first game and recorded a run scored. He went on to post incredible numbers down the stretch, with a .328/.406/.590 slash line across 69 plate appearances. He made the Yankees’ postseason roster and got into Game 4 of the ALDS against the Tigers, where he went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
That would be Montero’s last appearance in a Yankees uniform. In January of 2012, he was traded to the Mariners in what at the time was viewed as a blockbuster deal. Montero and teammate Hector Noesi were shipped to Seattle in exchange for All-Star right-hander Michael Pineda and pitching prospect Jose Campos. Pineda didn’t live up to his sensational rookie campaign after being traded to New York, but did manage to post a solid 4.16 ERA in 89 starts from 2014 to 2017 with the Yankees after battling injuries in his first two seasons with the team. Neither Noesi nor Campos had much impact in the majors, though Noesi did manage to pitch in parts for six MLB seasons.
As for Montero, the star prospect split time between catcher and DH for the Mariners in 2012 as an everyday player. Unfortunately, his season did not go as either he or Seattle were surely hoping it would. Montero was solid enough at the plate but hit just .260/.298/.386 with 15 doubles and 20 homers. It was a roughly league average performance, but with Montero still in his age-22 campaign there was plenty of reason for optimism that he would be able to take off in the future. That did not come to pass, however, as Montero struggled early in the 2013 season before being sidelined by a torn meniscus and accepting a 50-game suspension as part of the Biogensis scandal.
A combination of injuries, under-performance, and the aforementioned suspension left Montero limited to just 73 games in the majors between 2013 and 2015. In that time, he hit a disappointing .217/.255/.374 in 243 plate appearances. Prior to the 2016 season, the Mariners designated Montero for assignment. He went on to play in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays and Orioles throughout the 2016 and ’17 seasons and even found himself named to the Triple-A All-Star game during his time with Triple-A Buffalo, but was suspended for a second time for the use of a banned substance.
Montero played in the Mexican League in 2017 and 2018 before logging 29 games in Venezuelan winter league play. He played his last professional baseball game during the 2020-21 winter league season. In all, Montero made it into 226 MLB games across parts of five seasons and hit .253/.295/.398 with 28 home runs and 31 doubles.
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Montero’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.
Wow. So young. RIP. Condolences to his family and friends.
Wow… so sad. Such a great talent that never came to fruition. Rest in peace, big guy.
Remember playing with him in MLB2K12. 35 is too young, R.I.P., and prayers for his family 🙏
I was a huge fan when he came up.
Rest in peace.
I remember him well on the Yankees. He had a great stretch at one point. RIP Jesus.
Motorcycle accident, again. Don’t drive motorcycles, people. They’re not safe.
He was killed by a drunk driver. Don’t get behind the wheel if you’re gonna have a few.
Okay. And motorcycles still aren’t safe. Your chance of dying in a collision is significantly higher if you’re in a motorcycle than in a car. Obviously you can’t prevent getting hit by a drunk driver, but your chances of surviving a collision with a drunk driver on a motorcycle? Not very high.
Okay, and? He knew the risk was inevitable when he learned to ride motorcycles however many years ago. It was his choice. The real issue here is drunken asshats getting behind the wheel, putting everyone else in danger.
Not accurate. I see plenty of motorcycles drivers around me and always pull to either side so they have enough time to react and make a lane change if need be. They pay their respect and wave their hand as they pass me up. It’s not always the driver on the bike. Some people get really nervous and anxious and reaction time is less than a second. RIP Jesus Montero though. Too many of these accidents are happening in the off-season.
Just because you see them doesn’t mean other drivers do. Look around you at most of the other drivers around you. At least 50% of the drivers will have phones in their hands.
It’s not about whether the motorcycle itself is safe, but driving a motorcycle in traffic is a major risk for someone to take. All the motorcyclists I know (many good friends have them) will say it’s not IF, it’s WHEN.
I live in Dallas and the many of the motorcyclists here are morons with a death wish.
RIP Montero
It also depends where are these accidents happening as well. Highways, local roads etc. I also lived in Dallas and did the same thing and it was always the motorists who are on their phone or distracted. I agree with you there.
You don’t know how they drive in South America.
It is insane here.
Completely agree. Motorcycles are too dangerous and are not safe. It just isn’t worth it. They just have zero protection if they are involved in a crash.
Sheesh. If you want to ride a motorcycle, ride a motorcycle.
Bad take Darkside. What is not safe is all the people in cars trucks and big rigs that are driving distracted and maybe even impaired. Riding Harley’s are a blast but you have to ride like everyone is trying to take your life at all times.
Rest in peace, Montero. So young.
Highest postseason batting average in mlb history. Forever. RIP
Tied.
Wow! Prayers for him and his family!
Too young.
Very sad and so young. Praying for strength and peace for his family and friends.
Damn shame. RIP.
Can’t believe he was only 35 after all of these years
That’s why they call it juice
Yeah, after we process the tragedy of it, it’s unavoidable to reflect on his profile as a tip-top prospect who very likely got there because he was juicing. And then the question becomes: Who else is in that category?
You’re suggesting that because he didn’t make it as an mlb player he was on steroids? You’re an idiot. If you knew anything about his build, steroids would be the last thing I would accuse him of. Do better bro.
The dude was a biogenesis client and his numbers nose dived the moment they went down.
Across the board 2013 was substantially worse than the previous two years and he never again came close to replicating his numbers from the Biogenesis days.
His lab was busted, he was suspended, he started getting tested more often, and he immediately and permanently declined.
Halos covered it above. You actually are an idiot if you believe there’s 1 steroid build. There’s different classes of steroids for whatever your specific body or strength goal is so that statement on its face is garbage.
Jesus was busted for steroids in 2013. He was a top 5 prospect as early as 2007. He tore up the minors but came into one ST fat, didn’t take batting practice like they thought, was fined and sped on him. Cashman saw a chance to acquire a stud young power pitcher just off a rookie season where he threw 170 innings with over 170 ks. He knew that Montero wasn’t going to stick as a C and sold high on him. He was tested throughout his entire career. In 2013 he tore his knee and while on rehab, he was busted for steroids use. It’s not like he was putting up great numbers and then was busted and upon his return was never the same. So to say that he failed as a prospect Brevard he was no longer juicing is factually untrue. It would be different if he was killing it in the majors, was busted and then his numbers came crashing down afterwards. That didn’t happen. So I stand by what I said in response to @seam
My condolences to his family and friends. His 2012 season had a pretty good batting line!
RIP
Way too young to pass.
I saw he and Noesi up close as an M’s fan. Montero wasn’t a very good defensive catcher but could hit although streaky. Noesi was more of a puzzle. He threw in the mid 90’s with good movement on his pitches and at times showed flashes of being really good. But inevitably he would leave too many fastballs over the middle, and you just can’t do that with major league hitters. We M’s fans rooted hard for these two young players, but it wasn’t to be. RIP Jesus.
Montero was another “can’t miss” prospect that missed and of course will always be remembered for the ice cream incident in the minors.
That said, 35 is way too young. R.i.P.
Ah man, hate to hear it. RIP.
RIP Jesus…..
RIP
Wow, 35 is insanely young! I hope the drunk driver that killed him is brought to justice. RIP Jesus Montero…
Rest in Paradise Jesus. Gone way too soon.
RIP Jesus.
🙁
I remember the hype around his MLB debut and the subsequent trade to Seattle. Too young. RIP.
35. Man.
RIP.
Too soon, rip sir. What a shock
RIP former first ballot future hall of famer.
What a bizarre and tragic life for a guy we all had the highest hopes for. Baseball aside, it’s just sad, but even sadder is how the trajectory went along both his professional career and his personal life.
He’s 6 years younger than me… That’s just not fair. I feel so bad for his family.