Jesus Montero’s cause of death has been revealed

New details have emerged regarding the cause of death of former MLB catcher Jesus Montero.

Montero, a former top prospect, died after a motorcycle accident in his native Venezuela. Venezuelan news outlet El Nacional reported that the accident took place on Oct. 4, when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a pickup truck. He had remained hospitalized since then.

Montero’s brother Maikel Guevara revealed that Montero had suffered a punctured lung, six broken ribs, multiple fractures to his femur, tibia, and fibula, and hip and knee injuries. He was also placed in a medically-induced coma after suffering cardiac arrest, and required dialysis. The former MLB player was unable to recover from those injuries, and his death was announced on Sunday.

Once regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball, Montero was seen as on par with the likes of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. The Yankees famously came close to trading him for pitcher Cliff Lee in 2010, but the deal was never consummated. He was ultimately traded to the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2012 season for pitcher Michael Pineda.

Montero’s best season came in 2012 with the Mariners, when he hit .260 with 15 home runs. In 2013, he was implicated in the Biogenesis scandal and suspended, and his career never recovered after that. His MLB tenure ended in 2016, when he was hit with a 50-game suspension for violating MLB’s PED policy.

In total, Montero played in 226 MLB games, where he hit .253 with 28 home runs. He had most recently played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in 2021.