Seattle Mariners option former top prospect Jesus Montero to AAA

May 19, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Jesus Montero (63) sits behind home plate after Cleveland Indians shortstop Mike Aviles (not pictured) scored from second base on a ground out in the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Remember Jesus Montero? Well, if you don’t, the now 24-year-old catcher/designated hitter is a former top-10 prospect in all of baseball dating back to his time with the New York Yankees, but Montero’s short tenure with the Seattle Mariners hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. In that vein, the Mariners reportedly decided to give demotion a chance on Friday.

#Mariners optioned Jesus Montero, Xavier Avery and James Jones to AAA Tacoma. Reassigned Chris Taylor to Minor League camp.
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) March 14, 2014

Montero has been optioned to AAA Tacoma in advance of the start of the regular season, and sadly, this was predictable. It was widely reported that the 24-year-old reported to Spring Training a staggering 40 pounds overweight, and while he actually hit the cover off the ball in spring (.310/.355/.621 slash line with 2 home runs), it wasn’t enough to keep him with the big league club as April approaches.

It is way too early to bury Montero as a guy with no chance to make it in the majors, but his career numbers (.699 OPS with bad defense) don’t indicate the type of ceiling that Seattle pictured when acquiring him. My gut feeling is that we will see him back in Seattle in a short while, but the clock could be ticking on his career with the Mariners.

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