When was Jesús Montero signed by the Yankees? Career highlights explored as former MLB star dies at 35

Jesús Montero, a former Major League Baseball catcher and designated hitter, was once seen as one of the brightest young talents in the sport. Being a former player with the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, he displayed good skills in hitting at a very young age. His path to becoming an international signing as a young boy and being a prospective star in the league had a lot of good things before his career went sour.

The career of Montero commenced with being recruited by the Yankees at the age of 16 in 2006, and he moved up the system fast. He would later play in the major league, where he was known to have offensive potential. Nevertheless, his off-field problems and injuries had a negative influence on his career and made him leave the MLB prematurely.

Unfortunately, Jesús Montero passed away on October 19, 2025, at the age of 35. It was reported that he died in Venezuela after being injured in a motorcycle accident earlier that month. His death has revived his youthful potential and his stint in the major leagues.

Jesús Montero's early career and rise to the Majors

In 2006, the New York Yankees signed Jesús Montero as an international Venezuelan free agent. He earned a signing bonus of one of the biggest at the time, and was only 16 years old when he earned a signing bonus of $1.6 million. His performance in the minor league was excellent, and soon he became one of the prospects in the Yankees system.

As of 2011, Jesús Montero was listed as the No. 1 Yankees prospect and the No. 9 prospect in general by MLB Pipeline. In the same year, he debuted in the major league with the Yankees. He batted 4 homers in 18 games with a batting average of 328 and became part of the postseason team Division Series against the Detroit Tigers in the American League.

His fast ascension in the minors and brief success with the Yankees gave great hope for his future. His ability to become an important component of the team lineup in the coming years was believed. But his stay in New York came to an earlier conclusion than he had imagined after a great trade.

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Trade to Seattle and later career

In January 2012, Jesús Montero was sold to the Seattle Mariners together with the pitcher Hector Noesi. The Yankees, in turn, acquired Michael Pineda and Jose Campos as pitchers. The most productive year of Montero in the majors was his rookie year with Seattle. He batted an average of.260, 15 home runs, and 62 RBIs in 135 games.

Following the success of his rookie year, Montero's performance started to weaken. In 2013, he was banned for 50 games due to breaking the performance-enhancing drug policy of MLB as part of the Biogenesis investigation. The suspension was damaging to his reputation and a big blow to his career.

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Jesús Montero last played in 2015 in the MLB. He subsequently played in the lesser leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles teams and in the Mexican league and Venezuelan winter league until 2021. Throughout his career in MLB, he appeared in 226 games with a batting average of.253 and 28 homers and 104 runs batted in.

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