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Jesús Montero, who was once a top-10 baseball prospect while coming up through the New York Yankees organization and played one season with the Yankees and four seasons with the Seattle Mariners, died on Sunday. The Yankees confirmed Montero’s death, which came two weeks after being involved in a traffic crash in Venezuela. He was 35 years old.

The Yankees are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jesús Montero. We send our sincerest condolences to his family & loved ones. pic.twitter.com/jlfUpPmgMt

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 19, 2025

“The Mariners were saddened to learn today of the passing of former Mariners player Jesús Montero,” the Mariners said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to his family, friends and loved ones.”

A native of Guacara, Venezuela, Montero signed with the Yankees at age 16 for a $1.6 million bonus. He quickly developed into one of the top prospects in baseball and was, for a time, the face of the Yankees’ farm system. He hit .326 as an 18-year-old in Low A in 2008 and followed up that season with an even more spectacular campaign during which he hit .337/.389/.562 as a 19-year-old while playing between the High-A and Double-A levels in 2009. In 2010, he hit .289 with 21 homers and looked poised to take over as the Yankees’ backstop for the legendary Jorge Posada.

Montero returned to Triple A in 2011 and made his major-league debut with the Yankees late that season. He made a splash in his first big-league stint, hitting .328 with four homers in 18 games. Montero was included on the Yankees’ postseason roster that fall, and he singled in both plate appearances in the Yankees’ series loss to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series. At the time, Montero was considered the top prospect among a group of promising Yankees farmhands referred to as the “Baby Bombers” that included Gary Sánchez, Dellin Betances, Manny Bañuelos and Austin Romine.

For years leading up to his MLB debut, Montero was the subject of significant trade speculation, but the Yankees held onto him until they made a shocking trade with the Seattle Mariners on Jan. 23, 2012, sending Montero and right-hander Hector Noesí to Seattle for right-handers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos. At the time, Pineda was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and the deal was a rare “challenge” trade when top prospects were swapped for one another. At the time of the deal, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Montero “may well be the best player I’ve ever traded.”

Montero played a career-high 135 games for the Mariners in 2012. He hit .260 with 15 homers but struggled to get on base consistently (.298 OBP) and with his defense behind the plate. In 2013, Montero hit only .208 in the first 29 games and was sent down to Triple-A Tacoma. Late in the 2013 season, Montero was one of several players to accept a 50-game suspension for violating MLB’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs as part of the Biogenesis scandal that also led to the suspensions of former MVPs Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez. That offseason, Montero suffered a hand injury in a car accident in Venezuela that further set him back.

Montero’s MLB career never got back on track. He appeared in just six games for Seattle in 2014 and 38 in 2015. He finished his MLB career with a .253/.295/.398 line in 226 games. Montero continued to play professionally through the 2021 season, playing at Triple A for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2016 and the Baltimore Orioles in 2017. He also played in Mexico for the Generales de Durango in 2018. Montero was a regular presence in the Venezuelan Winter League, playing for the Cardenales de Lara from 2013-19 and the Aguilas de Zulia during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.