Baseball World Mourns: Former Yankees Catcher Passes Away at 35, Heartfelt Tributes Flood In

Former catcher for the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, Jesús Montero, has passed away at the age of 35 in Venezuela, his home country.

On Sunday, the Yankees shared the sad news with a heartfelt statement: “The Yankees are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jesús Montero. We send our sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones.”

Venezuelan sports media reported that Montero had been involved in a severe traffic accident several weeks prior.

It was reported that Montero was on his motorcycle near Valencia when he collided with a truck.

The tragic incident resulted in Montero suffering a punctured lung, six broken ribs, and multiple fractures to his femur, tibia, and fibula, in addition to injuries to his hip and knee, as detailed by the local news source, El Nacional.

He was rushed to Dr. Enrique Tejera Hospital in Valencia, Carabobo, where he reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated. 

The former MLB star is said to have been induced into a coma and put on dialysis due to the extent of the damage to his renal system.

He had been in critical condition before he passed away on Sunday after succumbing to his injuries.

Montero signed a deal with the Yankees in 2006, with experts projecting him as the best power hitter in his free agent class.

He spent four years in the minors with New York. At one point, he was under consideration for a trade to the Mariners to bring back starting pitcher Cliff Lee. However, Lee was dealt to the Texas Rangers instead.

Montero made his major league debut on September 1, 2011 in a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

His career with the Yankees was short-lived. After playing 18 regular season games and one playoff game in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers, Montero was traded in the offseason.

New York packaged him with pitching prospect Hector Noesi and shipped him to Seattle in exchange for pitchers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos.

Montero would play four seasons with the Mariners and logged 208 games and 796 plate appearances in that time.

In the 2013 season, he tore his left meniscus and needed surgery to prepare for it.

That same campaign, Montero was suspended for 50 games due to his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal, where he was provided performance enhancing drugs.

He spent most of the 2014 season in the minor leagues after arriving to spring training 40 pounds overweight. That year, he was involved in an altercation with a roving instructor in the stands – with the Mariners subsequently banning him from playing for the rest of the season.

Eventually, Montero would return to the majors in July of 2015. It would be his final MLB season.

After being designated for assignment by Seattle, the Toronto Blue Jays claimed Montero and put him in their farm system. 

Montero would play in the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league system in 2017 before playing in Mexico and his native Venezuela.

His major league career stats include a .253 batting average, 28 home runs, 104 RBI and 204 hits and 73 runs.

Montero had two children with Venezuelan model Taneth Gimenez. His daughter, Loren Alejandra (11), and his son, Jesus Alejandro (10), both have autism.