| Jesús Montero | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Montero with theSeattle Mariners in 2012 | |
| Catcher /First baseman | |
| Born:(1989-11-28)November 28, 1989 Guacara, Venezuela | |
| Died: October 19, 2025(2025-10-19) (aged 35) Valencia, Venezuela | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 2011, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 2015, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .253 |
| Home runs | 28 |
| Runs batted in | 104 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Jesús Alejandro Montero López (November 28, 1989 – October 19, 2025)[1] was a Venezuelan professionalbaseballcatcher andfirst baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theNew York Yankees andSeattle Mariners from 2011 to 2015.
Signed by the Yankees in 2006, Montero became one of the bestprospects in baseball. He debuted in MLB with the Yankees during the 2011 season, and was traded to the Mariners forMichael Pineda during the 2011–12 offseason. After his rookie year in 2012, Montero struggled with the Mariners in 2013 before ending his season with a 50-game suspension for his involvement in theBiogenesis scandal. He spent most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons in theminor leagues. His last major league game occurred on October 3, 2015, for the Mariners. Montero was signed by theToronto Blue Jays in 2016 and theBaltimore Orioles in 2017 but spent his time on their minor league teams. He was signed by theSultanes de Monterrey in 2017 andGenerales de Durango in 2018 but was released from both teams.
Montero died after he was involved in a motorcycle collision nearValencia, Venezuela, on October 19, 2025.
On July 2, 2006, Montero, an amateurfree agent, signed a professional contract with theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball (MLB), receiving a $1.6 millionsigning bonus.[2]Baseball America considered Montero to be the best player available and the bestpower hitter in the 2006 international free agent class.[3] In 2007, at age 17, Montero made his professional debut inMinor League Baseball for theGulf Coast Yankees of theRookie-levelGulf Coast League. As a result of his performance, the Yankees invited Montero tospring training in 2008,[4] where he hit ahome run in his onlyat bat before being assigned to minor league camp.[5] He spent the 2008 season with theCharleston RiverDogs of theSingle–ASouth Atlantic League, where hebatted .326 with 17 home runs and 87runs batted in (RBIs), with twostolen bases.[6] Montero was named to theAll-Star Futures Game, which features baseball's best minor league prospects.[7]Baseball America rated him as the Yankees' second bestprospect and best power hitter after the 2008 season.[8]
Montero began the 2009 season with theTampa Yankees, theHigh–AFlorida State League affiliate of the Yankees. On June 3, 2009, the Yankees promoted Montero to theTrenton Thunder of theDouble–AEastern League.[9] He hit .317 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 44 games with the Thunder.[10] Despite having played only a portion of the 2009 season in Trenton, Montero was added to the Eastern League All-Star roster.[11]Baseball America ranked Montero as the third-best prospect in baseball at midseason in 2009.[12] He was named to appear in theAll-Star Futures Game for the second year in a row.[13] Montero's season ended prematurely when he sustained a broken finger while catching.[10][14][15][16]
At the start of the 2010 season,Baseball America ranked Montero as the Yankees' best prospect,[17] and as the fourth-best prospect in all of baseball.[18] The Yankees invited Montero to spring training,[19][20] where Yankees'hitting coachKevin Long declared him ready for the majors as a hitter,[21] though the team wanted to see improvement on defense.[22] Montero spent the 2010 season with theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of theTriple-AInternational League. Early in the season, Montero struggled,[23] but he improved after the All-Star break.[24] Montero admitted that he did not spend as much time practicing in thebatting cage as he should, and thatAlex Rodriguez started fining Montero $100 for every day he didn't work out in the cage.[25]
At the 2010MLB trade deadline, the Yankees andSeattle Mariners almost completed a deal that would have sent Montero,Zach McAllister, andDavid Adams to the Mariners in exchange forCliff Lee. When the teams shared medical reports, the Mariners were concerned by Adams' ankle injury. As a result, they chose to trade Lee to theTexas Rangers in a package centered aroundJustin Smoak.[26]
Montero was named to appear in the International League All-Star game[27] He finished the season with a .289 batting average, 21 home runs, and 75 RBIs in 123 games.[28] Montero was honored on the International League's Postseason All-Star team,[29] and was chosen as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Player of the Year.[30]
Baseball America rated Montero as the third-best prospect in baseball before the 2011 season.[18] Montero contended for a spot on the Yankees'25-man roster in spring training in 2011.[31] Yankees officials believed Montero was ready to be the starting catcher, which would have enabled Jorge Posada to shift todesignated hitter,[32] though the signing ofRussell Martin allowed the Yankees to be patient with Montero.[33] A spring training injury toFrancisco Cervelli gave the Yankees an opportunity to use Montero as Martin's backup,[34][35] but Montero performed poorly with the pressure, and the team decided it was best for Montero to play every day in the minor leagues, rather than two games a week in the majors.[36] Montero began the 2011 season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.[37] Montero batted .288 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on the season.[36]
The Yankees promoted Montero to the major leagues on September 1, 2011, as aSeptember call-up. He started his first major league game that same day as the designated hitter against theBoston Red Sox atFenway Park. Montero went 0-for-4, but washit by a pitch and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.[36] He made his first start atYankee Stadium on September 3, 2011, against theToronto Blue Jays. He went 1-for-3, hitting a single to left field in the sixth inning with two outs for his first major league hit.[38] On September 5, during a game against theBaltimore Orioles, Montero hit his first two home runs of his major league career and the Yankees took an 11–10 victory.[39][40]
Montero became the first 21-year-old rookie to hit two home runs in one of his first five games sinceManny Ramirez did in 1993.[41] Montero started his first game as a catcher against theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 11.[42] Against the Red Sox on September 24, Montero fell atriple short ofhitting for the cycle.[43] Montero ended the year with a .328 batting average, which included four home runs and 28 RBIs in 18 games.[44]
During the 2011–12 off season, the Yankees traded Montero withHéctor Noesí forMichael Pineda andJosé Campos.[45] The Mariners had finished last in runs scored in the past two years,[46] and their need for a right-handed power hitter led them to trade Pineda from their depth of top-tier pitching prospects.[47] Yankees'General ManagerBrian Cashman said that Montero "may well be the best player I’ve ever traded".[48]
Baseball America ranked Montero as the sixth-best prospect in baseball before the 2012 season.[18] Montero made the Mariners'Opening Day roster in 2012.[49] During the season, the Mariners split his playing time between catcher and designated hitter, and he appeared in a total of 135 games. Despite the high expectations he established with the Yankees in 2011, he was not anMLB Rookie of the Year Award finalist. Montero finished the 2012 season with a .260 batting average, 15 home runs, and 62 RBIs.[48][50]
Montero began his 2013 season slowly as he compiled only a .208 batting average, three home runs, and nine RBIs in his first 29 games played. He was demoted to theTacoma Rainiers of the Triple-APacific Coast League on May 23, 2013.[48][51] As he struggled throwing outbaserunners attemptingstolen bases, the Mariners played Montero as afirst baseman for the first time in his professional career. He struggled offensively with Tacoma, batting .247 with one home run and nine RBIs.[48]
On June 1, it was announced that Montero had sustained a tornmeniscus in his left knee. Needing surgery to repair it, Montero was ruled out of any active competition for a period of four to six weeks.[52] On August 5, Montero accepted a 50-game suspension for his involvement in theBiogenesis baseball scandal, by which the Biogenesis of America clinic suppliedperformance-enhancing drugs to MLB players.[53] After the regular season, Montero returned to Venezuela to play in theVenezuelan Professional Baseball League (VPBL). A hand injury that occurred while in a car accident ended his participation in the VPBL for the season.[48]
Montero showed up for 2014 spring training weighing 275 pounds (125 kg),[54] 40 pounds (18 kg) above his target weight. He said, "After winter ball, all I did was eat."[55] Mariners' general managerJack Zduriencik said he has "zero expectations" about Montero.[56] He was cut from spring training camp in mid-March[57] and spent much of the season in the minor leagues. He batted .286 in 97 games for Tacoma, hitting 16 home runs with 74 RBIs. He suffered an oblique strain late in the season, and while on the disabled list, played for theEverett AquaSox of theClass A-Short SeasonNorthwest League on a rehab assignment.[54]
In an August game against theBoise Hawks, Montero was involved in an altercation with roving instructor Butch Baccala. As Montero, serving as the first base coach for the AquaSox, left the field at the conclusion of an inning, Baccala heckled him from the stands, telling Montero to leave the field in a timely manner. Baccala then sent an ice cream sandwich to the dugout for Montero.[58] Montero was not happy to be reminded of his earlier weight problem. He grabbed a bat, found Baccala in the stands, and threw the sandwich at Baccala while yelling expletives.[59] The Mariners organization barred Montero from playing the rest of the 2014 season for this incident.[60] Zduriencik stated:
First off, it is clear that both Jesus Montero and Butch Baccala engaged in behavior that is far below what we expect from members of our organization, including bad judgment at nearly every stage of this incident. I want to apologize on behalf of the Mariners franchise to the Boise Hawks and their fans. We recognize that fans, including children, were impacted by this incident, and the language that was used. We recognize the severity of this incident, and want to assure the Hawks and their fans that it will be dealt with appropriately.[61][62]
Montero trained inPeoria, Arizona, over the offseason, rather than returning to Venezuela. He reported to spring training in 2015 at 230 pounds (100 kg), and apologized for the incident in Boise.[54] The Mariners optioned him to Tacoma two weeks before the beginning of the season to continue to receive regular at bats.[63] While with Tacoma, the team's coaches noted that Montero's defense at first base had improved, to the point whereCory Snyder opined that Montero could play the position in the majors.[64] After Montero batted .332 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs in 84 games for Tacoma, the Mariners promoted him to the major leagues on July 9.[65] He batted 3-for-10 while drawing three walks in five games before he was optioned back to Tacoma on July 19.[66]
The Mariners recalled Montero on July 31, after trading several players at theMLB trade deadline.[67] Though he began by batting 13-for-40 (.325) with the Mariners, his batting average fell to .200 by September as he fell into a 2-for-35 (.057) slump. The Mariners optioned Montero to Tacoma on September 2, despite there only being six games left in Tacoma's season.[68][69] He finished the season with a .355 average in 98 games for Tacoma, but a .223 average with 32strikeouts in 116plate appearances for the Mariners.[18]
After the 2015 season, the Mariners acquiredAdam Lind, a left-handed hitter, as their starting first baseman.[70] In spring training in 2016, Montero competed withStefen Romero andDae-ho Lee to be the right-handed hitting complement to Lind.[71][72]
On March 27, 2016, Montero wasdesignated for assignment by the Mariners, and the following day, was claimed by theToronto Blue Jays off ofwaivers.[73] The Blue Jays assigned Montero to theBuffalo Bisons of the International League on April 1, outrighting him off of their 40-man roster.[74] In 126 games for the Triple–ABuffalo Bisons, Montero slashed .317/.349/.438 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs, and was named an International League post-season All Star.[75] He was also named to appear in theTriple-A All-Star Game.[76]
After the conclusion of the regular season, Montero was suspended for 50 games for testing positive fordimethylbutylamine, a banned substance.[77][78] He elected free agency on November 7.[79]
On January 3, 2017, Montero agreed to a minor league contract with theBaltimore Orioles.[80] After serving his suspension, he made his season debut for theNorfolk Tides of the International League after he was activated on May 31.[81] After batting .143 with 14 strikeouts in 49 at bats, the Orioles released Montero on June 27.[82]
On July 11, 2017, Montero signed with theSultanes de Monterrey of theMexican League.[83][84] In 21 appearances for the Sultanes, he slashed .349/.406/.446 with one home run and 17 RBI. Montero was released before the start of the ensuing season on January 23, 2018.[1][85]
On February 15, 2018, he signed with theGenerales de Durango of theMexican League.[86] In 27 games for Durango, he hit .273/.349/.382 with two home runs and 16 RBI. Montero was released by the Generales on April 24.[1] He played for two teams in theVenezuelan Winter League 2018–2019 season.[87] He played forAguilas del Zulia during the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 seasons.[88]
His parents are Jesús Rafael Montero and Carmen Cristina López. He had two children with Venezuelan fitness model Taneth Giménez.[54][89][64]
On October 4, 2025, Montero was critically injured when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck inValencia, Venezuela.[90] He experienced six broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken bones, and knee and hip injuries. He was put into aninduced coma and neededkidney dialysis and to be resuscitated fromcardiac arrest.[91] Montero died in the hospital on October 19, at the age of 35.[92][93]
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